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CONGREGATIONALISM : 


|al  it  is ;  Mima  it  is ;  iotu  it  toarhs ; 


WHY   IT   IS 


BETTER  THAN  ANY  OTHER  FORM  OF  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT ; 


ITS  CONSEQUENT  DEMANDS. 


BY 


HENRY    M.    DEXTER, 
I* 

Pastor  of  the  Berkeley  Street  Congre^tional  Ctanrch,  Boston ;  Editor  of  the  "  Congregationalist ; 
and  Associate  Editor  of  the  "  Congregational  Qnarterlj." 


m. 


LI 


or  THE 


UNIVEESITY] 

BOSTON: 

NICHOLS    AND    NOYES. 
1865. 


T>^ 


Entered  according  to  a6l  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1865,  by 

Nichols  and  Noyes, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Distrid  Court  for  the  Distri(5l  of  Massachusetts. 


STEREOTYPED  BY  W.   F.   BROWN  AND  CO 


PRESSWORK    OF   JOHN    WILSON    AND    SON. 


TO 

ANDREW    LEETE    STONE; 

FOR  WHOM 

THE  EAST  AND  THE  WEST   CONTEND 

BUT  WHOM 

NEITHER  THE  EAST  NOR  THE  WEST  HAS  YET  FULLY  COMPREHENDED 

IN 

^^t  hxtutsiT^  of  ^is  Cljnstian  sagadtn, 

®^e  dzmnzz^  anb  forte  ai  l^is  logical  facullg, 

^ttb  Ifeis  atrmirabU  bl-enbing  of  marfg  all  of  ll^ose  imgtrial  qualities 

WHICH   GO  TO  MAKE  UP 

A    TRUE 

THIS      VOLUME      IS 

(without  permission) 

AFFECTIONATELY      INSCRIBED, 

BY    ONE, 

WHO,  IN  MORE  THAN  SIXTEEN  YEARS  OF  ALMOST  DAILY  INTERCOURSE, 

HAS   HAD   BOTH   FREQUENT   CAUSE   AND   LARGE   OPPORTUNITY 

TO   KNOW  WHAT  HE  IS   AS 


g^  SxUnL 


Religion  is  the  best  thing,  and  the  corruption  of  it  the  worst. —John  Robinson,  IVorks,  i  '.^i- 

We  veryly  beleeve  &  trust  y*  Lord  is  with  us,  unto  whom  &  whose  service  we  have  given 
our  selves  in  many  trialls  ;  and  that  He  will  graciously  prosper  our  indeavours  according  to  y* 
simplicitie  otour  harts  therin.  —  Robinson  and  Brewster,  to  Sandys,  15  Dec.  1617. 

We  are  much  charged  with  what  we  own  not,  viz, :  —  Independency,  when  as  we  know  not  any 
Churches  Reformed,  more  looking  at  sister  Churches  for  helpe  then  ours  doe,  onely  we  can  not 
have  rule  yet  discovered  from  any  friend  or  enemy,  that  we  should  be  under  Canon,  or  power  of 
any  other  Church  ;  under  their  Councell  we  are.  We  need  not  tell  the  wise  whence  Tyranny 
grew  in  Churches,  and  how  commonwealths  got  their  pressure  in  the  like  kind.—  Hugh  Peter. 
Answer  of  the  Elders,  iv. 

The  Discipline  appointed  by  Jesus  Christ  for  his  Churches  is  not  arbitrary,  that  one  Church 
may  set  up  and  practice  one  forme,  and  another  another  forme,  as  each  one  shall  please,  but  is  one 
and  the  same  for  all  Churches,  and  in  all  the  Essentialls  and  Substantialls  of  it  imchangeable,  and  to 
be  kept  till  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  if  that  Discipline  which  we  here  practice,  be 
(as  we  are  perswaded  of  it)  the  same  which  Christ  hath  appointed  and  therefore  unalterable,  we 
see  not  how  another  can  be  lawfull ;  and  therefore  if  a  company  of  people  shall  come  hither,  and 
here  set  up  and  practice  another,  we  pray  you  thinke  not  much,  if  we  can  not  promise  to  approve 
them  in  so  doing.  —  Richard  Mather.    A  nswer  o/the  Elders,  83. 

That  Controversies  about  Forms  of  Ecclesiastical  Discipline,  concern  not  the  Essentials  of  Re- 
ligion, but  that  Good  Men  may  be  of  various  Sentiments  about  them  ;  Salva  Fide,  et  Caritate, 
is  readily  acknowledged.  Nevertheless  there  ought  to  be  a  singular  Regard  unto  Truths  of  this 
Nature,  by  us  in  New-England,  above  what  may  be  affirmed  of  Men  in  any  other  Part  of  the 
World,  since  our  Fathers  were  Persecuted  out  of  their  Native  Land,  and  fain  to  fly  into  the  Wilder- 
ness, for  their  Testimony  thereunto  :  great  were  the  Difficulties  and  Temptations,  and  Straits, which 
they  for  some  time  conflicted  with,  and  all  upon  no  other  Account,  but  that  so  they  might  enjoy  a 
Pure  Discipline  and  Church  state,  exactly  conformable  to  the  Mind  of  Christ,  revealed  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  On  which  Account,  for  their  Posterity  to  depart  from  what  their  Fathers  have 
with  so  much  Clearness  of  Scripture  Light,  taught  and  practiced,  and  confirmed  with  so  great 
Sufferings ;  must  needs  be  a  greater  Sin  and  Provocation  to  the  Eyes  of  his  Glory,  than  may  be 
said  of  any  other  People  on  the  Face  of  the  Earth.  —  Increase  Mather.  Disq.  con.  Eccl.  Coun- 
cils, i. 

Some  [among  us]  are  great  Blessings  to  the  Churches,  as  inheriting  the  Principles,  Spirit,  and 
Grace  of  their  Fathers  and  Grand-Fathers ;  but  many  of  them  do  not  so.  On  which  accoimt,  it 
is  not  at  all  to  be  wondered  at,  if  they  Dislike  the  Good  Old  Way  of  the  Churches;  yea,  if  they 
Scoff  at  it,  as  some  of  them  do ;  or  if  they  are  willing  to  depaH  from  what  is  Ordinarily  Prac- 
ticed in  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  New-England.  For  the  Congregational  Church  Discipline 
is  not  Suited  for  a  Worldly  Interest,  or  for  a  Formal  Generation  of  Professors.  It  will  stand  or 
fall  as  Godliness  in  the  Power  of  it  does  prevail,  or  otherwise.  —  Increase  Mather.  Order  of 
the  Gospel,  11.  ■^ 

Our  Fathers  fled  into  tliis  Wilderness  from  the  face  of  a  Lording  Episcopacy  and  Human 
Injunctions 'm  the  worship  of  God.  Now,  if  any  of  us  their  Children  should  yield  unto,  or  be  In- 
strumental to  set  up  in  this  Country,  any  of  the  Ways  of  Men's  Invention,  such  as  Prelacy,  imposed 
Liturgies,  Human  Ceremonies  in  the  Worship  of  God,  or  to  admit  Ignorant  and  Scandalous 
Persons  to  the  Lord's  Table  ;  This  would  be  a  backsliding  indeed!  It  would  be  a  Backsliding 
to  the  Things  which  we  and  our  Fathers  have  departed  from,  and  have  openly  testified  against,  to 
be  not  of  God.  — John  Higginson.    Sermon  27  May,  1663. 

It  was  with  regard  unto  Church  Order  and  Discipline,  that  our  pious  Ancestors,  the  Good  old 
Puritan  Nonconformists,  transported  themselves  and  their  Families,  over  the  vast  Ocean  to  these 
goings  down  of  the  Sun.    On  which  account,  a  Degeneracy  from  the  Principles  of  pure  Scriptural 


Wcrship  and  Order  m  the  Church,  would  be  more  Evil  in  the  (Z\Si!Sa^noi New-England,  than 
any  other  People  in  the  World.  —  Cotton  Mather.    RoUio  Discipline,  iv. 

Consider  what  will  be  the  latter  end  of  receding  or  making  a  defection  from  the  way  of 
Church  Government  established  among  us.  I  profess  I  look  upon  the  discovery  and  settlement 
of  the  Congregational  way,  as  the  boon,  the  gratuity,  the  largess  of  Divine  bounty,  which  the 
Lord  graciously  bestowed  upon  his  people  that  followed  him  into  this  wilderness.  ...  As 
for  the  Presbyterian  way  of  Church  Government,  it  must  be  confessed  that,  in  the  day  of  it,  it 
was  a  very  considerable  step  to  reformation.  The  church  of  God  hath  been  recovered  by  degrees 
out  of  the  anti-Christian  apostacy.  The  reformation  in  King  Edward's  days  was  then  a  blessed 
work ;  and  the  reformation  of  Geneva  and  Scotland  was  a  larger  step,  and  in  many  respects  purer 
than  the  other ;  and  for  my  part  I  fully  believe  that  the  Congregational  way  far  exceeds  both, 
and  is  the  highest  step  that  hath  been  taken  toward  reformation,  and,  for  the  substance  of  it, 
is  the  very  way  that  was  established  and  practiced  in  the  primitive  times,  according  to  the  Insti- 
tution of  Jesus  Christ  .  .  .  And  those  that  would  forsake  the  Congregational,  and  pass  over 
to  the  Presbyterian  way,  because  of  some  differences  of  notion  among  our  Congregational  Di- 
vines, or  difficulties  in  the  practice  and  way  of  the  Congregational  Churches,  shall  find  that  they 
make  but  a  bad  exchange,  and  that  there  are  as  many  or  more  differences,  difficulties,  and  en- 
tanglements, in  the  Presbyterian  principles  and  practice.  —  President  Cakes.  Election  Ser' 
mon,  1673. 

It  is  evident  indeed,  that  great  Pains  are  taken  to  draw  our  People,  especially  our  inconsider- 
ate ^£w«^  People,  who  are  too  unmindful  of  the  King  and  God  of  their  Fathers,  yV^w  their  Love 
and  Attach-ntent  to  those  first  Principles  of  these  Churches  ;  But,  as  Naboth  said  to  Ahab  con- 
cerning his  Vineyard,  in  i  Kings,  xxi :  3.  The  LORD  forbid  it  me,  that  I  should  give  the  Inheri' 
tance  of  my  Fathers  unto  Thee  ;  even  so  it  is  fit,  that  we  should  say  to  such  as  would  entice  us 
to  part  with  the  pure  Order  of  these  Churches,  This  was  our  Father's  Inheritance  :  And  God 
forbid,  that  any  should  persuade  us  to  give  up  our  inestimable  Rights  :  For  the  very  Thought 
of  parting  with  them  is  Shocking.  —  Samuel  Mather.    Apology,  ^'c.  143. 

The  exigencies  of  the  Christian  Church  can  never  be  such  as  to  legitimate,  much  less  render  it 
wise,  to  erect  any  body  of  men  into  a  standing  judicatory  over  the  Churches.  —  President 
Stiles.    Convention  Sermon,  wb. 

Pilgrim  Fathers  of  New  England,  victims  of  persecution,  how  wide  an  empire  acknowl- 
edges the  sway  of  your  principles  !    Apostles  of  Liberty,  what  millions  attest  the  authenticity 

ofyour  mission  ! We  come,  in  our  prosperity,  to  remember  your  trials  ;  and  here, 

on  the  spot  where  New  England  began  to  be,  we  come  to  learn  of  you  an  abiding  lesson  of  vir- 
tue, enterprise,  patience,  zeal,  and  faith  !  —  Edward  Everett.     Works,  i  '.^^. 

Spread  yoiu-selves  and  your  children  over  the  continent,  accomplish  the  whole  of  your  great 
destiny,  and  if  it  be  that  through  the  whole  you  carry  Puritan  hearts  with  you,  if  you  still  cher- 
ish an  undying  love  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  mean  to  enjoy  them  yourselves,  and  are 
willing  to  shed  your  heart's  blood  to  transmit  them  to  your  posterity,  then  will  you  be  worthy 
descendants  of  Carver  and  Allerton  and  Bradford,  and  the  rest  of  those  who  landed  from  stormy 
seas  on  the  rock  of  Plymouth.  —  Daniel  Webster.     Works,  ii :  524. 

There  was  a  State  without  king  or  nobles ;  there  was  a  Church  without  a  bishop.  —  RuFUS 
Choate.    Life  and  Writings,  i  :  379. 

^    And  still  their  spirit,  in  their  sons,  with  freedom  walks  abroad, 
i    The  Bible  is  our  only  creed  ;  our  only  monarch,  God  ! 

The  hand  is  raised,  the  word  is  spoke,  the  solemn  pledge  is  given, 
And  boldly  on  our  banner  floats,  in  the  free  air  of  heaven. 
The  motto  of  our  sainted  sires,  —  and  loud  we'll  make  it  ring,  — 
^  Cljurc^  toittout  a  i3tsi)op,  ant)  a  S^UXt  iuttfiout  a  Sltn^^l 


1 


PREFACE 


As  long  ago  as  in  1859,  I  was  desired  by  a  publisher  to 
recast  for  a  moderately  sized  volume,  an  article  entitled 
"  Congregationalism  —  its  essential  features  and  inherent 
superiorities,"  which,  after  some  previous  service  as  a  ser- 
mon, had  been  published  in  the  first  number  of  the  Con- 
gregational Quarterly,  I  undertook  the  labor,  and  the 
book  was  announced  as  in  the  press,  in  July,  1860.  It  so 
happened,  however,  that  after  the  copy  had  been  partially 
prepared  and  the  type-setting  begun,  circumstances  connected 
with  my  pastoral  charge  compelled  the  temporary  relin- 
quishment of  the  undertaking.  Resumed  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible afterwards,  the  work  —  thanks  to  a  printer  of  inex- 
haustible patience  —  has  been  carried  on  at  desultory  and 
often  distant  intervals,  as  the  pressure  of  two  exacting 
professions,  and  other  things,  would  permit.  It  has  thus 
been  written  and  stereotyped  in  fragments ;  since  the 
first  fifty  pages,  one  "  form "  not  unfrequently  having 
been  completed,  before  the  next  page  has  existed  in  man- 
uscript. 

I  mention  these  facts  because  they  are  facts  —  which 
may  explain,  though  they  will  not  justify,  some  of  the  many 
defects  of  the  volume.     If  any  body  sees   in  it  crudities, 

(vil) 


VIIT  PREFACE. 

repetitions,  and  —  in  matter  and  manner  —  abundant  marks 
of  haste;  I  can  only  say,  with  Paul,  "I  more."  Being  at 
last  finished,  it  is  now  published,  because  it  is  an  honest  — 
though  felt  to  be  a  very  imperfect  —  endeavor  to  discuss, 
in  a  practical  way,  subjects  of  common  concernment ;  and 
particularly  to  make  clear  to  all  inquiring  minds  the  sim- 
ple and  efficient  processes  of  Congregationalism.  While  the 
wants  of  ministers,  and  others  who  are  called  upon  to  dis- 
cuss Church  Polity,  have  been  constantly  had  in  mind, 
and  many  notes  have  been  inserted  for  their  eye ;  the 
book  has  yet  been  especially  written  for,  and  to,  the  intel- 
ligent masses  of  the  people,  in  the  deepest  conviction  that 
the  system  of  Church  order,  which  it  aims  to  unfold  and 
defend,  has  special  Divine  aptitude  to  bless  them,  while 
in  the  present  position  of  our  country  this  aptitude  pecu- 
liarly needs  to  be  considered  and  commended  to  the  general 
mind  ;  and  in  the  thought  that,  among  other  and  abler 
treatises,  they  might,  on  some  accounts,  be  grateful  for  such 
an  one  as  this. 

I  have  no  apology  to  offer  to  fellow  Christians  of  other 
denominations  for  anything  said  herein.  I  have  not  in- 
tended to  speak  in  bitterness  or  censoriousness,  nor  other- 
wise than  I  would  have  them  speak  of  my  own  faith — did 
facts  warrant  it  —  in  reversed  circumstances.  I  hold  that 
the  most  peaceable  and  useful  Christian  union  is  that  which 
is  effected  by  the  kindly  co-working  of  denominational 
bodies,  each  thoroughly  persuaded  that  it  is  better  than  all 
others,  and  stimulated  to  the  utmost  esprit  de  corps;  as 
that  grand  army  proves  most  victorious,  in  which  each  arm 
of  the  service  is  sure  that  it  is  more  vital  than  all  others 


I 


PREFACE.  IX 

to  that  success  which  all,  it  may  be  eqjially,  desire,  and  for 
which  all,  under  one  leadership,  contend.  If  a  fellow  Chris- 
tain  is  an  Episcopalian,  or  a  Presbyterian,  or  a  Methodist, 
I  want  him  to  be  such  with  all  his  heart  and  soul  and  mind 
and  strength ;  and  equally  I  desire  an  earnest  Congrega- 
tionalism in  all  who  accept  the  democratic,  as,  at  once,  the 
primitive  and  the  peerless  polity.  The  present  crisis  in 
our  National  affairs  demands  from  every  Christian,  action 
of  that  sagacious,  self-denying,  and  I  might  almost  say  stren- 
uous character,  which  can  only  be  the  natural  outgrowth 
of  an  intelligent,  fervid,  and  untiring  inward  conviction 
that  he  has  "  the  mind  of  Christ." 

I  have  not  always  cited  the  most  approved  editions  of  the 
Fathers,  and  others  ;  because  it  was  more  convenient  to 
use  those  at  hand  in  my  own  possession,  and  I  had  no  time 
to  go  to  the  public  libraries,  and  collate  passages. 

XJiO'^e  remembered  that  a  poor  book  with  a  good  index 
is  better  than  a  good  book  with  none  at  all ;  and  having 
lost  countless  hours  in  writing  this,  for  want  of  tolerable 
help  of  that  description  in  many  of  the  volumes  which  I 
have  had  occasion  to  consult,  I  have  been  especially  moved 
to  make  it  in  this  respect,  worthier  of  the  public  favor  ;  and 
I  am  sure  that  those  who  may  consult  it  will  not  feel 
that  it  is  over-indexed. 

The  die  on  the  cover  is  from  the  title-page  of  the  late 
Mr.  Joseph  Hunter's  "  Collections  concerning  the  Founders 
of  New  Plymouth.  London.  John  Russell  Smith.  1854;" 
being  essentially  a  map,  in  little,  of  that  locality,  "  near  the 
joining  borders  of  Nottinghamshire,  Lincolnshire,  and  York- 


X  PREFACE. 

shire,"  which  was  honored  of  God  as  the  birth-place  of  Amer 
lean  Congregationalism. 

I  only  add,  that  the  plates  of  the  statistics  of  pp.  5-7, 
have  been  suffered  to  stand  as  they  were  cast  five  years 
ago,  because  it  has  proved  impossible,  since  the  Rebellion, 
to  gain  later  minute  returns  from  the  South,  of  the  char- 
acter required  for  those  calculations ;  and  that  I  have  in- 
troduced—  often  in  the  language  elsewhere  employed  — 
many  practical  discussions  of  points  of  interest  to  Congre- 
gationalists,  which  have  been  already  published,  in  one  or 
other  of  the  Journals  with  which  I  have  editorial  connec- 
tion. 

H.  M.  D. 

Hillside,  Roxbitkt,  I 
5  June,  1865.  ) 


ANALYSIS. 


CHAPTER  I.    What  Congregationalism  is pp.  1-7 

Definition 1 

Fundamental  Principles 2-4 

Number  of  Congregational  churches  here  and  abroad 6 

Ratio  to  other  churches  here ^ 6 

Very  evenly  difi"used  throughout  the  land 7 

CHAPTER  II.    Whence  Congregationalism  is 8-159 

Sect.  1.    Intimations  of  Christ  on  church  government 9-13 

Sect.  2.     Testimony  of  the  Apostles 13-21 

Sect.  8.     Testitnony  of  histoi^y  to  Congregationalism 21-25 

Sect.  4.    Proof  of  the  principles  of  Congregationalism  from  Scrip- 
ture and  Reason 25-159 

I.  Principle.    Any  company  of  people  believing  themselves  to 

be,  and  publicly  professing  to  be,  Christians,  associated  by 
voluntary  compact,  on  Gospel  principles,  for  Christian  work 

and  worship,  is  a  true  church 25-34 

(1.)  A  true  church  is  composed  of  Christians 26-29 

(a.)  It  is  described  as  holy 26 

(b.)  A  vital  union  between  it  and  Christ 27 

(c.)  Christ's  design  for  it 27 

(d.)  Radically  different  from  the  world 27 

(e.)  Only  believers  can  rightly  receive  its  ordinances. .  28 

(f.)  Unworthy  members  are  to  be  cut  off. . ./ 28 

(2.)  Those  Christians  must  be  united  by  covenant 29 

(3.)  This  union  must  be  for  Christian  work  a^d  worship. .  30 

(4.)  Every  such  company  is  a  true  church.  .L 30 

(a.)  From  scriptural  use  of  the  word  church 31-34 

(b.)  The  work  laid  upon  the  church  by  Christ  and 
the  Apostles  consists  only  with  independent 
bodies 34 

II.  Principle.    Such  a  church,  as  a  rule,  should  include  only 

those  who  can  worship  and  labor  together,  and  watch  over 

each  other 34-35 

III.  Principle.    Every  member  of  such  a  church  has  equal  es- 

sential righ  ts,  powers,  and  privileges  with  every  other  (ex- 

[xil 


Xn  ANALYSIS. 

cept  80 far  as  the  New  Testament  and  common  genae  make 
some  special  abridgement  in  the  case  of  female  members), 
and  the  membership  together,  by  majority  vote,  have  the 
right  and  duty  of  choosing  all  necessary  officers,  of  admit- 
ting, dismissing,  and  disciplining  their  own  members,  and 
of  transacting  all  other  appropriate  business  of  a  Chris- 
tian church 3S-43 

(1.)  All  of  its  members  have  equal  rights,  &c 38-40 

(2.)  The  membership  control  its  action 40-43 

(a.)  They  choose  officers 40-41 

(b.)  They  admit  and  dismiss  members 41 

(c.)  They  discipline  and  exclude  members 41-42 

(d.)  They  transact  all  other  appropriate  business. ...  43 

IV.  Principle.     Every  such  church  is  independent  of  all  out- 

ward control,  and  answerable  only  to  Christ,  and  is  on  a 
level  of  essential  character  mth  every  other  church  on 

earth 43-58 

(1.)  It  is  independent,  under  Christ 44-56 

(a.)  No  Scripture  confers  control  over  it  upon  any. .  44-47 
(b.)  No  Scripture  furnishes  evidence  of  such  control. . .  47 

(c.)  Drift  of  New  Testament  against  it 47 

(d.)  Arguments  for  such  control  do  not  prove  it 47-49 

(e.)  Texts  cited  do  not  prove  it 49-55 

(f.)  Christ  made    his  churches  independent,  under 

himself. 55 

(2.)  All  such  churches  on  an  essential  level 56-58 

V.  Principle.    A  fraternal  fellowship  is  yet  to  be  maintained 

between  these  churches,  by  advice  in  Council,  (fc,  ^c 58-67 

(1.)  Such  fellowship  is  Scriptural 61-63 

(2.)  It  is  reasonable 63 

Councils  are  mutual  and  ex  parte 64 

They  have  no  authority  (strictly  so  called) 64-66 

Suppose  a  church  declines  such  advice  ? 66-67 

VI.  Principle.     The  permanent  officers  of  a  church  are  its 

Pastor  or  Pastors,  and  Beacons,  only ;  to  be  chosen  from 

its  own  ranks 67-159 

(1.)  Christ  designated  but  these  two  classes 68-76 

Apostles,  Prophets,  Deaconness,  &c 69 

Angel  of  the  church 70 

Evangelists 71-73 

Miracles,  Gifts  of  Healings,  Helps,  Governments,  &c. . .  74-75 
Diversities  of  tongues 76 

(2.)   Tlie  first  class  is  Pastors,  called  also  Teachers,  Elders, 

Presbyters,  and  Bishops 76-132 

(a.)  Testimony  of  able  and  candid  scholars  that  these 

are  all  names  of  one  office 77-92 


ANALYSIS.  XIII 

Wiclif,  John  of  Goch,  Luther,  Calvin 77 

Cranmer,  Melancthon,  Coverdale,  Polanus,  Limborch. .  78 
Episcopius,  Arminius,  Wollebius,  Ames,  Robinson, 

Lord  King,  Sclater,  Turretin,  Stapfer 79 

Richard  Hooker,  Milton,  Lardner. 80 

Gibbon,  Baxter,  Doddridge 81 

Owen,  Cotton,  Davenport,  Thomas  Hooker,  Cotton 

Mather,  Chauncy 82 

Wigglesworth,  Foxcroft,  Dickinson,  Walter 83 

Shepard,  Jameson,  Wise,  Hopkins,  Emmons 84 

Dwight,  Mason,  Woods,  Guizot,  Coleridge,  Smyth, 

Bennet 85 

Coleman,  Schmucker,  Taylor,  Sawyer,  Breckenridge, 

Pond,  Davidson,  Punchard,  Upham 86 

Garratt,  Vaughan,  Hill,  Jacobson,  Newman,  Plumtre, 

Conybeare  and  Howson 87 

Ullman,  Hall,  Bacon,  Wellman,  Athanasius,  Cajetan, 

Gualtherus 88 

Zanchius,  Gomarus,  Grotius,  Brennius,  Poole,  Hen- 
ry, Bengal,  Macknight,  Clark 89 

Whitby,  Scott,  Assembly's  Annotations,  Bloomfield, 

Baumgarten,  Eadie,  Hodge,  Barnes,  Alexander 90 

Hackett,  Mack,  Alford,  Peshito-Syriac,  Michaelis 91 

(b.)  Similar  testimony  from  the  Fathers,  and  from  Ec- 
clesiastical history 92-99 

Clement  of  Rome,  Polycarp 92 

Justin  Martyr,  Irenseus 93 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  Hilary,  Jerome 94-96 

Chrysostom,  Theodoret,  Pope  Urban 96-97 

Mosheim,  Waddington,  Milner,   Campbell,  Gieseler, 

Guericke 97 

Schaff,  Kurtz,  Killen,  Neander 98 

Epistles  of  Ignatius  worthless  in  evidence 99 

(c.)  Similar  testimony  from  the  Scriptures 100-110 

(aa.)  Examine  the  words  "  Pastor,"  &c.,  them- 
selves   100-103 

(bb.)  Same  qualifications  demanded  of  all 103-104 

(cc.)  Same  duties  assigned  to  all 104-107 

(aaa.)  To  guide 104^105 

(bbb.)  To  instruct 105 

(ccc.)  To  administer  the  ordinances 105-106 

(ddd.)  To  ordain ,  106-107 

(d.)  The  texts  claimed  as  making  the  Bishop  a  superior 

order,  fail  to  sustain  the  claim 107-109 

Does  the  New  Testament  teach  or  authorize  any  such  of- 

Jice  as  that  of  Ruling  Elder  ? 110-121 

Presbyterians,  Dutch  Reformed,  &c.,  hold  this 110 

Passages  supposed  to  prove  it Ill 

All  turns  on  1  Tim.  v.  17 112 


XIV  ANALYSIS. 


But  (1.)  these  are  not  lay  elders 112 

(2.)  they  are  the  same  as  labor  in  word  and 

doctrine 113 

(3.)  they  can  not  have  ruling  for  their  sole 

function 114 

(4.)  it  is,  then,  a  Congregational  text 114 

proof  of  its  Congregational  sense  from 

other  texts 116 

(5.)  Presbyterian  sense  of  it  conflicts  with 

the  directions  of  the  New  Testament, . . .  117 

(6.)  all  elders  were  to  be  apt  to  teach 118 

Testimony  of  antiquity,  Vitringa,  Rothe,  Neander, 

Dr.  Wilson,  &c 118 

Calvin  invented  the  office 118 

■^"N^  The  "  Ruling  Elder  "  of  our  Pilgrim  Fathers. . . .  121-132 

Their  theory  not  self-consistent  nor  useful 123 

Not  a  Presbyterian  eldership,  and  soon  abandoned. .  132 
(8.)  The  second  class  of  permanent  officers  set  by  Christ  in 

his  churches  (for  temporalities)  is  called  Deacons.  132-136 

(1.)  Record  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 132 

(2.)  Epistles  prove  the  same 134 

(3.)  Early  history  of  the  Church  proves  it.. . .  134 
(4.)  Pastors  and  Deacons  are  to  be  chosen  and  set  apart 

by  the  church  from  its  aim  membership 136-145 

(1.)  Every  church  is  to  elect  its  own  Pastor  and 

Deacons 136 

(2.)  Every  church  is  to  ordain,  or  otherwise  set 

apart,  its  Pastor  and  Deacons 136 

(a.)  The  proprieties  suggest  some   setting 

apart 137 

(b.)  New-Testament  theory  of   ordination 

very  simple 138 

Apostles  did  not  "  ordain  "  elders  in 
every  church,  but "  secured  their  elec- 
tion"   138 

Scriptural  ground  lies  in  other  passages. .  139 

A  comely  and  fit  custom 140 

(c.)  This  view  supported  by  our  Fathers. ...  141 

"  Plebeian  "  ordinations 144 

The  "  six  months'  notice  "  planunscrip- 
tural,  micongregational,  needless,  in- 
expedient, disgraceful,  and  disastrous. .  144 
The  hierarchal   theory  of  ordination 

false,  pernicious,  and  absurd 145 

(3.)  The  Church  must  elect  and  set  apart  these 

officers  from  its  own  number 146-149 

Duty  of  a  Congregational  minister  to  belong 

to  his  own  church 146 

"  Stated  supplies  " 149-154 


ANALYSIS.  XV 

Congregationalism  knows  such  only  as  excep- 
tions   149 

Right  of  laymen  to  preach  if  competent 150 

The  Fathers  held  that  only  a  Pastor  is  a  min- 
ister   152 

One  may  act  temporarily  as  "  supply,"  but 

only  ad  interim 153 

"  Ordination  as  an  Evangelist " 154-159 

There  is  no  true  ordination  but  of  a  church 

over  itself 154 

A  layman  may  be  authorized  by  the  church  to 

administer  the  Lord's  Supper  to  it 155 

And  to  baptize,  where  there  is  need 166 

One  who  has  been  ordained  as  an  Evangelist 
is  just  as  much  of  a  minister  as  he  was  be- 
fore, and  no  more 157-159 

CHAPTER  III.    How  Congregationalism  works 160-235 

Sect.  1.    How  to  form  a  church 160-166 

Is  it  expedient 160 

Number  necessary 161 

Application  for  letters  of  dismission,  &c.  (form) 161 

Articles  of  faith  and  covenant  (form) 162-163 

Calling  a  council  where  practicable 164 

Form  of  letter  missive 164 

Action  of  Council  and  process  of  organization 165 

Sect.  2.    How  to  choose  and  induct  church  officers 166-172 

(1.)  Choice  of  lesser  officers 166 

(2.)  Choice  and  induction  of  Deacons 167 

(3.)  Choice  and  induction  of  Pastor 168 

Co-action  of  church  and  society  (if  one) 168 

Form  of  call 168 

Form  of  letters  missive 171 

Procedure  of  Council,  &c 171 

Sect.  3.    Eow  to  transact  the  regular  business  of  a  church 172-196 

(1.)  Standing  rules  (form) 172-173 

(2.)  Rules  of  order 174 

(a.)  Coming  to  order 175 

(b.)  Motions 176 

(c.)  Amendments 177 

(d.)  Privileged  motions 178 

(aa.)  The  previous  question 179 

(bb.)  The  motion  to  withdraw  the  question 179 

(cc.)  The  motion  to  lay  on  the  table. 179 

(dd.)  The  motion  to  commit 179 

(ee.)  The  motion  to  postpone  to  a  fixed  date 179 

(fF. )  The  motion  to  postpone  indefinitely 179 

igg.)  The  motion  to  adjourn. . , 179 


XVI  ANALYSIS. 

(e.)  Voting 180 

(f.)  Reconsideration 181 

(g.)  Quesfions  of  order 181 

(h.)  Committees 182 

(aa.)  Special  committees 182 

(bb.)  Standing  committees 182 

(cc.)  Committee  of  the  whole 182 

(i.)  Reports 183 

(j.)  Closing  a  meeting 183 

(3.)  Admitting  members 183-185 

(4.)  Dismissing  members  (forms,  &c.) 185-188 

(5.)  Disciplining  members 188-195 

(a.)  Private  offenses  when  only  one  individual  is 

concerned  (forms  of  complaint,  &c.) 189 

(b.)  Private  offenses  between  two  or  more 192 

(c.)  Matters  of  public  scandal 193 

(d.)  Violations  of  the  articles  of  faith  and  covenant. . .  194 

Sect.  4.    How  to  vacate  church  offices 195-206 

(a. )  How  to  vacate  lesser  church  offices 196 

(b.)  How  to  vacate  the  deaconship 197 

(c.)  How  to  vacate  the  pastorship 198 

Dismission  (forms) 198 

^        Deposition 205 

Sect.  5.     Church  and  parish 206-213 

(1. )  The  church  standing  alone 206 

(2.)  The  church  for  all  secular  purposes  actiiig  as  a 

parish 207 

(3.)  Church  and  parish  co-acting 208 

(a.)  Organization  of  a  parish 210 

(b.  j  By-laws  of  a  parish  (form) 210 

(c.)  Rules  for  joint  action  (form) 212 

Sect.  6.     Councils 213-221 

(1.)  Who  may  call  a  Council 214 

(2.)  How  a  Council  is  called 214 

(3.)  Letters  missive 215 

(4.)  Quorum 216 

(5.)  Organization 216 

(6.)  Scope  of  business 216 

(7.)  Method  of  business 217 

(8.)  Result 217 

(9.)  Force  of  such  a  result 218 

No  authority  (purely  speaking).. 219 

Legally  (in  Mass.) :  — 

(a.)  Of  no  force  until  accepted  by  parties 219 

(b.)  Justifies  the  party  accepting  and  acting  on  it.  219 
(c.)  Conclusive  as  to  facts  adjudged  to  be  such.. .  220 

(d.)  But  the  court  may  revise 220 

(10.)  Dissolution 220 


ANALYSIS.  XVII 

Sect,  7.     Consociation 221-225 

A  standing  Council  and  not  a  purely  Congregational 

procedure 222 

Sect.  8.    Associations 225-227 

Sect.  9.      Conferences 227 

Sect.  10.     Church  extension 227 

Sect.  11.    Denominational  relations 229 

Sect.  12.    How  to  dissolve  a  church 230-233 

Where  unanimous  (form  of  letter) 231 

Where  resisted  by  a  minority 232 

Sect.  13.     The  restoration  of  offenders 234-235 

CHAPTER  IV.    Why  Congregationalism  is  better  than  any  other 

FORM  OF  Church  Government 236-296 

Sect.  1.    It  is  more  in  accordance  with  the  mind  of  Christ 236-237 

(1.)  It  is  the  New-Testament  polity 236 

(2.)  It  is  that  which  Christ  has  signally  blessed 237 

(3.)  It  is  that  which  specially  promotes  earnest  per- 
sonal Christian  activity 237 

Sect.  2.    It  is  more  practicable  in  its  worhing  than  any  other  sys- 
tem   237-251 

(a.)  In  the  formation  of  churches 238 

(b.)  In  the  matter  of  the  pastorate 241 

(c.)  In  its  methods  of  worship 248 

(d.)  In  all  church  work 249 

Sect.  3.    It  tends  most  to  promote  general  intelligence 252-254 

Sect.  4.    It  tends  most  to  promote  piety  in  its  membership 255-259 

(a.)  Develops  especially  individual  responsibility 255 

(b.)  Throws  its  membership  most  directly  upon  the  ' 

Bible,  the  Spirit,  and  the  Saviour 257 

Sect,  5.     It  most  favors  true  gospel  discipline 259-263 

Sect.  6.    It  has  the  most  favorable  influence  upon  its  ministry. .  263-266 
Sect.  7.     Its  fundamental  principles  are  more  favorable  than  any 

other  to  the  promotion  of  the  general  cause  of  Christ  266-267 

(1.)  In  promoting  revivals  of  religion 267-276 

(a.)  In  virtue  of  its  freeness  of  action,  and  flexibility 

of  adaptation 267 

(b.)  Its  want  of  reliance  upon  any  thing  formal,  or 

ritual,  for  salvation 269 

(c.)  The  high  character  of  its  spiritual  demands 271 

(d.)  Its  special  training  toward  dependence  upon  God.  272 

(e.)  Its  intense  individualism 274 

(2.)  In  promoting  missions < 276 

Sect.  8.    It  furnishes  the  most  efficient  barrier  against  heresy  and 

false  doctrine 277-289 

(1.)  Favors  the  development  of  error  less  than  others. . . .  277 
6  .     . 


XVIII  ANALYSIS. 

(2.)  Furnishes  a  less  favorable  shelter  for  it 280 

(3.)  It,  in  its  past  history,  has  actually  proved  itself  a 

safer  barrier  than  any  other  system 281-289 

Sect.  9.    It  has  a  kindlier  bearing  than  any  other  toward  a  repub^ 

lican  form  of  civil  government 288-293 

Beet,  10.    Its  advantages  are  organic  and  peculiar  to  itself,  while 
its  disadvantages  are  incidental  to  the  imperfection  of 

its  past  development,  and  so  removable 293-295 

The  existence  of  heretical  churches  Congregation- 
ally  governed,  no  proof  that  these  positions  are 
false 295-296 

CHAPTER  V.    What  ought  to  be  done  about  this? 297 

1.  Congregationalists  should  recognize  the  fact  that  Con- 

gregationalism is  a  polity 298 

2.  That  it  is  the  polity  which  Christ  loves,  and  would  pro- 

mote  298 

3.  They  ought  to  master  it  in  its  grand  scope,  and  minute 

details 299 

4.  They  ought  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  no  other  polity 

can  be  so  helpful  to  this  land  now  as  it  can  be 299 

5.  They  ought  to  remember  that  it  is  peculiarly  the  polity 

of  revivals,  and  work  it  in  that  aim,  to  that  end 300 

6.  They  ought  to  use  all  honorable  means  to  secure  its 

prevalence 301 

(1.)  It  should  be  preached  as  a  system  from  Christ,  and 
which  needs  to  be  made  clear  in  what  it  is,  what 
it  is  not,  and  what  it  demands 802 

(2.)  Distinctively  Congregational  missions,  home  and 
foreign,  should  be  supported  by  Congregational- 
ists in  preference  to  all  others 302 

(3.)  Congregationalists  should  abundantly  endow,  and 

thoroughly  use,  their  schools  and  seminaries 303 

(4.)  They  should  purify  the  practical  working  of  their 

system  of  present  inconsistencies.. 304 

(5.)  They  should  do  justice  to  its  principle  of  the  com- 
munion of  churches,  in  more  active,  and  more 
loving,  and  more  constant  fellowship  and  co- 
working  306 


INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS. 


Acceptance  of  a  report,  183. 

Adjourament,  183. 

Adjourn,  motion  to,  privileged,  179. 

Adjournment  sine  die,  183. 

Admitting  members,  183. 

Admonition,  effect  of,  191. 

Adoption  of  a  report,  183. 

Amendments,  177. 

Amend,  motion  to,  may  entirely  alter  and 
even  reverse  the  meaning  of  the  original 
motion.  178. 

American  Congregational  Union,  228. 

Angel  of  the  Church,  what?  70. 

Appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  Chair,  182. 

Apostles,  oflELce,  self-limited  and  temporary, 
20. 

Apostles  assumed  no  control  over  the  primi- 
tive churches,  47. 

Apostles  threw  their  influence  on  the  side  of 
popular  rights,  19. 

Aristocracy,  essential,  of  tho  Presbyterian 
system,  291. 

Arminianism,  in  Scotland  developed  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  283. 

Articles  of  Faith  (form  of),  162. 

Association,  articles  of,  for  a  Parish  (form  of), 
210. 

Associations,  ministerial,  what?  225. 

Associations,  ministerial,  error  of  their  at- 
tempting to  depose  from  the  ministry,  305. 

Associations,  General,  226. 

Authority,  properly  speaking,  none  in  the 
decision  of  a  Council,  219. 

Baptism,  any  church,  on  exigency,  may 
authorize  a  competent  layman  to  adminis- 
ter, 155. 

Barnes,  Rev.  Albert,  case  of,  illustrates  the 
imperfection  of  the  Presbyterian  way  of 
dealing  with  asserted  heresy,  288. 

Bishop,  what?  102. 

Bishop,  same  as  Pastor  or  Elder,  76. 

Bishop,  in  the  Episcopal  sense,  the  offspring 
of  the  corruptions  of  the  early  Church, 

Bishops  superior  to  Pastors ;  cannot  be 
proved  by  texts  claimed  to  prove  it,  107. 

Bishops,  American  Episcopal,  have  not  the 
true,  untainted  Apostolical  succession,  245. 


"  By  all  means  save  some,"  the  voice  of  Con- 
gregationalism to  each  one  of  her  mem- 
bership, 275. 

Call  to  a  candidate  to  become  a  Pastor 
(form  of),  169. 

Calomel  on  Mondays,  quinine  on  Tuesdays, 
and  so  "fe,  the  Episcopal  way,  269. 

Certificate  of  good  standing  should  be  taken 
by  a  traveUing  Church  member  {with 
form),  187. 

Certificate  of  reception  from  another  Church 
I  form  of).  186. 

Christ  placed  the  sole  responsibility  of  his 
cause  on  earth  upon  the  local  Churches,  55. 

Church,  what  it  is,  1. 

Church,  composed  of  Christians,  25,  26. 

Church,  a  true,  what  is  it?  25. 

Church,  a,  must  be  united  by  covenant,  29. 

Church,  a  feeble,  may  be  purer  than  a  strong 
one,  57. 

Church,  the,  a  local  body,  34. 

Church,  every,  local,  independent  of  all  exter- 
nal control,  but  Christ's,  43. 

Church,  local,  every,  on  a  level  with  every 
other,  56.    . 

Church,  permanent  ofiicers  two,  only,  67. 

Church  and  Parish,  206. 

Church,  can  it  be  dissolved  by  majority  vote ; 
opinions  on  the  question,  233. 

Church  depose  their  Pastor,  when  painfully 
necessary,  after  advice  of  Council,  205. 

Church,  '"dropping"  from,  impossible,  187. 

Church  extension,  227. 

Church  extension,  early  New  England  way, 
228. 

Church,  how  to  form,  160. 

Church  may  act  without  any  Parish,  206. 

Church  may  act,  for  all  secular  purposes,  as 
a  Parish,  207. 

Church,  how  to  dissolve,  230. 

Church  may  be  dissolved  by  unanimous  vote, 
231. 

Church,  how  to  proceed  where  a  small  minor 
ity  resist  dissolution,  232. 

Church  work,  superior  advantages  of  Con,- 
gregationalism  in,  249. 

Church  order,  why  Luther  did  not  reform 
that  as  well  as  Church  doctrine,  24. 

[xix] 


XX 


INDEX   OF    SUBJECTS. 


Church  of  England,  has  "  Calvinistic  articles, 
a  Papistical  service,  and  an  Arminian  cler- 
gy,"  282. 

Churches,  at  Jerusalem,  Antioch,  Ephesi^s, 
and  Corinth,  though  large,  did  each  meet 
together  in  one  place  for  business,  37- 

Churches,  thirty-five  local  Congregational, 
mentioned  in  the  New  Testament,  36. 

Churches,  five  primitive,  within  eye-shot  of 
each  other,  36. 

Churches,  Congregational,  proved  best  on 
heathen  ground,  277. 

Churches,  more  easily  formed  under  Congre- 
gationalism than  under  any  other  system, 
238. 

Churches  should  maintain  fellowship,  58. 

Churches,  voting  by,  in  a  Council,  the  old 
way,  and  the  best,  216. 

Church  Courts,  faulty  and  inefifectual  work- 
ing of,  289. 

Closing  a  meeting,  183. 

Colenso  case,  light  shed  by  it  upon  the  utter 
weakness  of  Episcopacy  to  protect  itself, 
281. 

Coming  to  order,  175. 

Committee,  motion  to  commit  to,  privileged, 
179. 

Committee,  special,  182. 

Committee  of  the  whole,  182. 

Committee,  examining,  184.  », 

Committees,  182. 

Committees,  standing,  182. 

Committees,  &c.,  how  to  vacate,  196. 

Common  sense,  Congregationalism  the  religion 
of,  268. 

Complaint  against  an  offender  (form  of),  190. 

Concubinage, spiritual,of  the  Itinerancy, 265. 

Conferences,  Church,  227. 

Conferences,  Church,  error  of  their  attempt- 
ing, or  tolerating,  any  semblance  of  eccle- 
siastical or  judicial  power  over  the  Church- 
es, 304. 

Conferences,  General,  227. 

Confession,  191. 

"Conflict  of  Ages,"  much  read  but  little 
received,  280. 

Congregational,  meaning  of  the  name,  4. 

Congregational  Church,  that  at  Scrooby  the 
Mother  Church  of  New  England,  25. 

Congregational  Churches,  the  kind  for  the 
foreign  mission-field,  277. 

Congregationalism,  religious  democracy,  1. 

Congregationalism,  a  form  of  Church  order, 
not  of  faith,  4. 

Congregationalism,  fundamental  principle  of, 
2. 

Congregationalism,  six  subordinate  principles 
of,  2. 

Congregationalism,  the  necessary  outgrowth 
of  the  teachings  of  Christ,  9. 

Congregationalism,  in  a  majority,  in  this 
country,  6. 

CongregationaUsm  has  21  forty-firsts  of  the 
Evangelical  Churches  in  this  country,  6. 

Congregationahsm,  evenly  distributed  in  the 
land,  7. 

Congregationalism  equally  adapted  to  every 
latitude,  7. 

Congregationalism  differs  from  Independency, 
2.  60.  "^' 

Congregationalism,  most  practicable  form  of 
Church  govemmentj  237. 


Congregationalism  most  favors  the  formation 
of  Churches,  238. 

Congregationalism,  superiority  of,  in  the  pro- 
motion of  general  intelligence,  252. 

Congi-egationalism,  most  practicable  in  its 
methods  of  worship,  248. 

Congregationalism,  superiority  of,  in  all 
Church  work,  249. 

Congregationalism  most  favors  its  pastors, 
241.  * 

Congregationalism  especially  favors  its  min- 
istry, in  contrast  with  other  polities,  263. 

Congregationalism  throws  its  members  most 
directly  upon  the  Bible,  and  the  Spirit,  and 
the  Saviour,  257. 

Congregationalism  most  tends  to  promote 
piety  in  its  membership,  255. 

Congregationalism  most  promotes  the  feel- 
ing of  individual  responsibility  for  the 
conversion  of  men.  255. 

CongregationaUsm  most  promotes  Gospel  dis- 
cipline, 259. 

Congregationalism  furnishes  best  barrier 
against  heresy,  277. 

Congregationalism  casts  out  a  heretic  more 
easily  and  effectually  than  any  other  sys- 
tem, 281. 

Congregationalism  in  England  and  Scotland, 
has  kept  the  faith  while  Presbyterianism 
has  lapsed  into  heresy,  284. 

Congregationalism,  most  in  accordance  with 
the  mind  of  Christ  of  aU  Church  poUties, 
236. 

Congregationalism  most  favors  the  promotion 
of  the  general  cause  of  Christ,  266. 

Congregationalism  most  tends  to  bring  on  the 
Millennium,  237. 

Congregationalism  has  been  most  blessed,  237. 

Congregationalism,  advantages  of,  pecuUar  to 
itself,  293. 

Congregationalism,  practical  disadvantages 
of,  as  sometimes  worked,  merely  inciden- 
tal to  its  imperfection  of  development,  and 
sure  to  disappear,  293. 

Congregationalism,  its  antagonist  systems,  in 
stress  of  difficulty,  obliged  to  desert  their 
own  fundamentals  and  appeal  to  its,  294. 

Congregationalism,  fact  that  there  are  many 
heretical  Churches  so  governed,  no  fair 
objection  to,  296. 

Congregationalism,  the  mother  of  this  fi^e 
Republic,  290. 

Congregationalism,  statistics  of,  5. 

Congregationalists-Baptists,  Unitarians,  TJni- 
versalists,  &c.,  &c.,  may  be,  4. 

Congregationalists,  ought  to  recognize  the 
fact  that  they  possess  a  polity,  298. 

Congregationalists,  ought  to  know  and  feel 
that  they  possess  the  polity  which  Christ 
especially  loves,  and  would  promote,  298. 

CongregationalLsts,  ought  to  master  their 
polity  in  its  minute  details,  299. 

Congregationalists,  ought  to  appi-eciate  the 
fact  that  no  polity  can  now  so  bless  this 
land  as  theirs,  299. 

Congregationalists,  ought  to  feel  that  theirs  is 
the  polity  for  revivals,  and  work  it  for 
that  end,  300. 

Congregationalists,  ought  to  use  all  honora- 
ble means  to  extend  their  polity,  301. 

Congregationahsts,  should  preach  their  sys- 
tem, 302. 


INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS. 


XXI 


Congregationalists,  should  especially  favor 
tiud  promote  Congregational  Missions, 
Home  aud  Foreign,  302. 

Congregationalists,  should  abundantly  en- 
dow, and  thoroughly  patronize,  their  own 
Schools,  Colleges,  and  Seminaries,  303. 

Congregationalists,  should  purify  their  system 
of  all  practical  inconsistencies,  which  mar 
its  working,  304. 

Congregationalists,  should  cultivate  a  spirit 
of  unity,  and  co-working,  305. 

Consociation,  221. 

Consociationism,  low-church  theory  of,  224. 

Council,  ecclesiastical,  what  ?  213. 

Council,  theory  of  a,  63. 

Council,  who  may  call,  214. 

Council,  how  called,  214. 

Council,  organization  of,  216. 

Council,  quorum  of,  what?  216. 

Council,  moderator  of,  best  chosen  by  ballot, 
216. 

Council,  method  of  business,  217. 

Council,  scope  of  business  of,  216. 

Council,  no  right  to  touch  any  subject  not 
submitted  in  the  Letter  Missive,  215. 

Council  to  form  a  church,  procedure  of,  164. 

Council  for  settlement  of  a  Pastor,  details 
concerning,  170. 

Council,  Mutual,  to  be  called  for  dismissing  a 
Pastor,  200. 

Council,  Mutual,  for  dismission,  procedure 
of,  201. 

Council,  Dismissing,  should  ^ve  suitable  cre- 
dentials to  a  worthy  retiring  Pastor  (form 
of),  205. 

Council,  to  dissolve  a  Church,  230. 

Council,  to  restore  a  deposed  minister,  235. 

Council,  Mutual,  64. 

Council,  tx  parte,  64. 

Council,  ex  parte,  may  be  called  when  a  Mu- 
tual Council  has  been  refused,  215. 

Council,  result,  217. 

Council,  result  (form  of),  218. 

Council,  force  of  result  of,  218. 
w^^  Council,  result,  force  of,  in  the  Massachusetts 
^        Courts,  219. 

Council,  result  of,  suppose  a  Church  do  not 
accept  it  ?  66. 

Council,  dissolution  of,  220. 

Council,  dissolved,  cannof  re-assemble  but  by 
a  new  Letter  Missive,  and  as  a  new  Coun- 
cil, 221. 

Council  at  Jerusalem,  50. 

Councils,  Ecclesiastical,  213. 

Councils,  Ecclesiastical^  Scriptural,  61. 

Councils,  Ecclesiastical,  reasonable,  63. 

Councils,  reference  to  several  important  ones, 
221. 

Councils,  have  no  authority,  properly  so 
called,  64. 

Councils,  not  to  be  confounded  with  Presby- 
teries, 65. 

Courts,  revision  of  results  of  Councils  by, 
220. 

Credentials,  Council  should  give  suitable,  to  a 
worthy  retiring  Pastor  (form  of),  205. 

Covenant,  the  bond  of  a  Church,  29. 

Covenant,  form  of,  163. 

Deacon,  what?  132. 

Deacon,  a  temporal  office  in  the  Church,  134; 

Deacon,  ofiSce  of,  testimony  of  Church  His- 
tory, that  it  was,  in  the  primitive  Church, 


the  second  office  in  the  Church,  and  for 
temporalities,  135. 

Deacon,  is  elected  by  his  own  Church,  136, 
JL47. 

Deacon,  to  be  set  apart  by  his  own  Church, 
136. 

Deacons,  how  to  choose  and  induct,  167. 

Deaconess,  what  the  office  was,  69. 

Deaconship,  how  to  vacate,  197. 

Debate  may  be  renewed  after  the  affirmative 
of  a  question  has  been  put,  181. 

Debating  an  undebatable  question  out  of 
order,  181. 

Denominational  relations,  229. 

Deposition  of  a  Pastor,  how  effected,  205. 

Deposition  of  an  unworthy  Minister  very  dif- 
ficult, if  not  practicably  impossible,  in  the 
hierarchal  Churches,  247. 

Deposition  of  Pastor,  in  Consociated  Churches, 
done  by  Consociation,  226. 

Deposed  minister,  how  restored,  234. 

Discipline,  188. 

DiscipHne,  Episcopalian,  futility  of,  261. 

Discipline,  Church,  illustrations  of  the  imper- 
fection of  Presbyterian,  260. 

DiscipHne,  Methodist,  imperfection  of,  262. 

Discipline,  Gospel,  most  favored  by  Cougrega- 
tionahsm,  259. 

Dismission,  when  requested  to  an  unevan- 
geUcal  body,  duty  concerning,  187. 

Dismission,  Letters  of,  should  not  be  vaUd 
more  than  six  months  or  a  year,  188. 

Dismissing  members,  185. 

Dissolution  of  a  meeting,  183. 

Distrust  of  our  own  first  principles,  danger 
from,  305. 

Diversities  of  Tongues,  76. 

Doubting  a  vote,  180. 

"  Dropping "  from  the  Church,  impossible, 
187. 

Duties  of  Pastor,  Elder,  Teacher,  and  Bishop, 
Scripturally  the  same,  104. 

Earnestness,  a  great  present  need  of  Congre- 
gationalists, 302. 

Ecdesia,  Scripture  use  of.  31. 

Ecclesiastical  year,  evils  of  observance  of,  268. 

Elder,  or  Presbyter,  what?  101. 

Elder,  lay  ruling,  Scripture  authorizes  no 
such  office,  110. 

Elder,  lay  ruling,  texts  claimed  to  teach  it, 
teach  no  such  thing.  111. 

Elder,  lay  ruUng,  Calvin  invented  the  office, 
118. 

Elder,  lay  ruling,  conceded  by  eminent  Pres- 
byterians to  be  an  office  resting  on  expe- 
diency, and  not  on  the  Word  of  God, 
119. 

Elder,  lay  ruling,  contest  about,  between  Dr. 
Breckinridge  and  Dr.  Smyth,  &c.,  121. 

Elders,  lav  ruling,  unsupported  by  a  solitary 
text,  118. 

Elders,  lay  ruling,  theory  of,  conflicts  with 
Scripture  theory  of  Church  rule,  117. 

Elders  who  "rule  well,"  the  same  as  those 
who  "  labor  in  word  and  doctrine,"  113. 

Ellipse,  Congregational,  two  foci  of,  the  Inde- 
pendence of  local  Churches,  and  their  fra- 
ternity, 299. 

England,  Church  of,  has  no  fixed  doctrine, 
286. 

England,  Church  of,  helpless  against  heresy, 


XXII 


INDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 


Ephesus,  Church  of,  did  not  have  several 
congregationa  under  one  Presbyterial  gov- 
ernment, 52. 

Ephesus,  claim  that  Timothy  was  Bishop  of, 
absurd,  109.  ,    . 

Episcopacy,  American,  abandoned  "a  bul- 
wark of  the  faith,"  in  her  Convention,  282. 

Episcopacy,  the  Colenso  case  shows  how  in- 
adequate all  its  provisions  are  to  secure 
purity  of  doctrine,  281. 

Episcopalian  discipline,  futility  of,  261. 

Episcopalians,  had  a  hard  time  in  getting 
ministers  here  in  colonial  times,  244. 

Episcopal  Church,  first  in  Boston,  became  the 
first  Unitarian,  285. 

Episcopalians,  early  American,  loose  in  doc- 
trine. 285. 

Episcopacy,  in  Connecticut,  absorbed  the 
Unitarian  element,  285. 

Epistles  of  Ignatius,  the  stronghold  of  Epis- 
copalians and  the  Papacy,  99. 

Epistles  of  Ignatius,  so  interpolated  as  to  be 
useless  for  argument,  99. 

Error,  religious,  Congregationalism  favors  de- 
velopment of,  less  than  any  other  polity, 
277. 

Error,  religious,  less  easily  sheltered  among 
Congregationalists  than  elsewhere,  280. 

Evangelist,  what?  71. 

Evangelist,  an,  ordinatioa  as,  needless,  154. 

Evangelist,  an,  ordination  as,  meaningless  and 
uncongregational,  154. 

Evangelist,  one  ordained  as,  jpelated  to  the 
churches  precisely  as  he  was  before,  157. 

Examining  Committee,  184. 

Excommunication,  effect  of,  191. 

Flexibility,  superior,  of  the  Congregational 
system,  267. 

Foci,  the  two,  of  the  Congregational  ellipse, 
the  Independence  of  the  local  Church,  and 
the  fraternity  of  those  Churches,  299. 

FoUy  of  Dr.  Woods,  and  others,  who  advised 
Congregationalists  to  become  Presbyterians 
at  the  West,  seen  and  acknowledged,  304. 

Forms :  — 

Articles  of  Faith,  162. 
Covenant,  163. 

Standing  Rules  for  a  Church,  173. 
llules  of  joint  action  of  Church  and  Par- 
ish, 212. 
Articles  of  Association  between  Church  and 

Parish,  210. 
By-laws  of  a  Parish,  211. 
Complaint  to  Church,  of  offending  mem- 
ber, 190. 
Certificate  of  good  standing  for  a  travel- 
ling Church  member,  188. 
Certificate  of  reception  as  a  Church  mem- 
ber, 186. 
Request  for  letter  of  dismission  to  form  a 

new  Church,  161. 
Letter,  when  request  for  dismission  will  be 

probably  denied,  162. 
Request  for  letter  of  dismission  to  another 

Church,  186. 
Letter  of  dismission  from  one  Church  to 

another,  186. 
Letter  of  dismission  to  be  given  by  a  dis- 
solving Church  to  its  membership,  231. 
Call  to  Pastor  elect,  169. 
Letter   Missive,  for    Council    to  form   a 
Church,  164. 


Forms  [continued ) :  — 

Letter  Missive,  for  Council  to  settle  a  Pas- 
tor, 171. 
Letter  Missive,  for  Mutual  Council  for  dis- 
missing a  Pastor,  200. 
Letter  Missive,  where  the  Pastor  declines  to 

unite  with  the  Church,  200. 
Letter  Missive,  for  Council  in  case  of  diffi- 
culty not  removing  the  Pastor,  215. 
Letter  Missive  for  a  Council  to  dissolve  a 

Church,  230. 
Letter  Missive  for  an  ex  parte  Council, 

216. 
Result  of  Council  recommending  the  retir- 
ing Pastor,  205. 
Result  of  Council  called  to  advise  in  diffi- 
culty, 218. 

Gifts  of  heaUngs.  what  ?  74. 

Governments,  what  ?  74. 

Hel^s  (antilSpseis),  what?  74. 

Heresj',  Congregationalism  furnishes  best 
barrier  against,  277. 

Heretic,  more  easily  dealt  with  under  Con- 
gregationalism than  under  other  systems, 
281. 

How  to  dissolve  a  Church,  230. 

Ignatius's  Epistles,  the  stronghold  of  the  hier- 
archy, 99. 

Ignatius's  Epistles,  so  corrupt  as  to  be  use- 
less for  argument,  99. 

Illustrations  of  Presbyterian,  imperfection  in 
discipline,  260. 

Improbability  that  the  "  General  Assembly  " 
will  decide  right  for  the  whole  Church; 
Dr.  Alexander's  sense  of,  289. 

Independence,  superior,  of  Congregational 
pastors,  264. 

Independency",  2,  60. 

Individualism,  intense  development  of,  by 
Congregationalism,  255. 

Infidelity,  the  growth  of  Presbyterianism  in 
Switzerland,  283. 

Intelligence,  general,  Congregationalism  pro- 
motes more  than  any  other  polity,  252. 

Interruption  of  a  speaker,  out  of  order,  181. 

Irrelevancies,  out  of  order,  181. 

Jefferson,  testimony  of,  to  the  admirable 
practical  working  of  Congregational  prin- 
ciples, 290. 

Judicature,  a  Cons6ciation,  strictly  one,  and 
so  uncongregational,  223. 

"Judicatories,"  Church,  unscriptural,  53. 

Layman,  a  competent,  may  be  authorized  by 
a  Church,  to  baptize,  and  administer  the 
Lord's  Supper,  in  emergencies,  155. 

Letter,  receiving  members  on,  from  another 
Church,  184. 

Letter  for  dismission  to  form  a  Chiirch  (form 
of),  161. 

Letter  of  request  for  dismission  and  recom- 
mendation (form  of),  186. 

Letter  of  dismission  and  recommendation 
(form  of),  186. 

Letter  of  dismission  to  its  members  by  a  dis- 
solving Church  (form  of),  231. 

Letter  Missive,  for  a  Council  to  advise  with 
reference  to  the  formation  of  a  Church 
(form  of),  164. 

Letter  Missive,  for  a  Council  to  settle  a  Pastor 

•    (form  of),  171. 

Letter  Missive,  for  calling  a  Council  in  case 
of  difficulty  m  the  Church  (form  of),  215. 


I 


INDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 


xxni 


Letter  Missive,  for  calling  an  ez  parte  Coun- 
cil (form  of),  216. 
Letter  Missive,  for  dismissal  of  a  Pastor  (form 

of),  200. 
Letter  Missive,  for    Council    to   dissolve   a 

Church  (form  of),  230. 
Licensure  by  an  Association,  confers  no  right 

to  be  a  Minister,  that  waa  not  possessed 

before,  152. 
Lord's  Supper,  any  Church  may,  in  an  exi- 
gency, authorize  any  competent  layman  to 

administer,  to  itself,  155. 
Malista  proves  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a 

Ruling  Elder,  in  the  Presbyterian  sense,  in 

the  Bible,  113. 
Massachusetts  Courts  have  shown  progress  in 

their  decisions  on  questions  of  pastoral 

difficulty,  203. 
Massachusetts  way  of  Church  and  Parish, 

208. 
Meeting,  closing  of,  183. 
Members,  admission  of,  183. 
Members,  disciplining,  188. 
Membfers,  dismissing,  185. 
Members  of  a  Church  have  equal  rights  and 

powers,  38. 
Members  should— as  the  rule  — belong  to  the 

Church  with  which  they  statedly  worshiai, 

185. 
Membership,  whole,  chose  original  deacons,  15. 
Membership,  whole,  chose  apostle  in  place  of 

Judas,  14.    •♦ 
Membership,  whole,  chose  elders  in  all  the 

primitive  Churches,  16. 
Membership,  whole,  chose  delegates,  to  go 

with  Paul,  15. 
Membership,    whole,    acted    in    the    early 

Churches  in  the  discipline  of  offenders,  18, 

34. 
Membership,  whole,  ancient,    consulted   in 

cases  of  doubt,  18. 
Membership,  whole,  have  the  right  to  admit, 

dismiss,  and  exclude  members,  41. 
Membership,  whole,  have  the  right  to  elect 

all  officers,  40. 
Membership,  whole,  have  the  right  to  trans- 
act all  the  business  of  the  Church,  43. 
Methodists,  troubled  in  their  beginnings  here 

by  irregularities    rendered  necessary    by 

their  system,  246. 
Methodist  discipline,  imperfection  of,  262. 
Minister,  New-Testament  idea  of,  that  of  a 

Pastor,  152. 
Ministry,  a  "  standing  order,"  not  a  doctrine 

of  pure  Congregationalism,  151. 
Ministry,  most  favored  by  the  Congregational 

system,  263. 
Ministry,  Congregational,  have  special  facili- 
ties for  usefulness,  265. 
Miracles  (dunameis),  what?  73. 
Moderator  of  a  church  meeting,  who  ?  168. 
Moderator,  duty  to  call  to  order  members  out 

of  order,  182. 
Moderator's    decision,  appeal   from,  to  the 

house,  182. 
Moderator  has  no  right  to  refuse  to  put  a 

vote  because  he  does  not  like  it,  177. 
Moderator  has  no  right  to  refuse  to  call  for 

the  "  contrary  minds,"  177. 
Moderator  has  no  right  of  veto,  176. 
Moderator  has  no  right  to  adjourn  the  meet- 
ing at  his  pleasure,  177. 


Moderator  of  a  Council,  best  chosen  by  bal- 
lot, 216. 

Motion,  last  made,  that  for  decision,  181. 

Motion  for  the  previous  question,  179. 

Motion  to  postpone  to  a  fixed  time,  179. 

Motion  to  postpone  indefinitely^,  179. 

Motion  to  commit,  179. 

Motion  to  lay  on  the  table,  179. 

Motion  to  reconsider,  181. 

Motion  to  adjourn,  179. 

Motions,  privileged,  178. 

Napthali,  blessing  on,  Congregationalistshave 
a  right  to  take,  303. 

New  Light,  which  is  old  darkness,  not 
successful  among  Congregationalists, 
280. 

Notice,  public,  should  be  ^ven  of  votes  of  ex- 
treme censure,  192. 

Offences,  private,  and  concerning  only  one 
individual,  189. 

Offences,  private,  where  two  or  more  are  con- 
cerned, 192. 

Offences,  violations  of  articles  of  faith  and 
covenant,  194. 

Offences  of  public  scandal,  193. 

Offender,  complaint  against  (form  of),  190. 

Offender,  trial  of,  191. 

Offenders,  restoration  of,  234. 

Offices,  Church,  how  to  vacate,  195. 

Officers,  Church,  how  to  choose  and  induct, 
166. 

Order,  questions  of,  181. 

Ordination,  New-Testament  view' of,  138. 

Ordination,  true  Scripture  ground  of  it,  not 
in  Acts  xiv.  23  and  Titus,  i.  5,  but  else- 
where, 138. 

Ordination,  the  act  of  the  Church,  proof  of, 
from  testimony  of  the  past,  141. 

Ordination,  hierarchal  theory  of,  untenable, 
145. 

Ordination,  is  it  for  life?  143. 

Ordination,  without  a  Council  regular,  in  an 
emergency,  245. 

"Packing"  Church  Courts,  beauty  of,  in 
Presbyterianism,  289. 

Parish,  206. 

Parish,  organization  of,  210. 

Parish,  "articles  of  association"  (form  of), 
210. 

Parish,  Church  may  exist  without,  206. 

Parish,  Church  may  act  as,  207. 

Parish,  By-laws  (form  of),  211. 

Parish  and  Church,  joint  action,  rules  for 
(form  of),  212 

Pastor,  what  the  word  means  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, 100. 

Pastor  to  be  ordained  by  his  own  Church, 
through  a  Council,  136. 

Pastor,  procedure  in  calling,  168. 

Pastor,  no  longer,  no  longer  a  Minister,  the  .  ^^ 
early  doctrine  of  New  England,  150.  Ir 

Pastor,  strictly,  demits  his  ministry  when  dis- 
missed, 150. 

Pastor,  a,  should  belong  to  his  own  Church, 
136, 147. 

Pastor  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  be  afraid  to 
belong  to  his  own  Church,  147. 

Pastor,  suppose  the  people  want  him  to  go, 
and  he  won't  go  ?  203. 

Pastor,  deposition  of,  how  effected,  205. 

Pastors,  same  as  Teachers,  Presbyters,  Elders, 
Bishops,  or  Overseers,  67. 


XXIV 


INDEX    O^    SUBJECTS. 
\ 


Pastors,  Congregationalism  favors,  more  than 

any  other  system,  241. 
Pastorship,  how  to  vacate,  198. 
People,   the,  recognized  as  the  tribunal  of 
last   appeal,    by   the    "strong"    Church 
governments,  when  "any  thing  breaks," 
294. 
Piety,  Congregationalism  more  promotive  of, 

than  any  other  polity,  255. 
Polity,  Congregationalism  as  decidedly  a,  as 

the  system  t)f  Rome  itself,  298. 
Postponement  to  a  fixed  time,  179. 
Postponement,  indefinite,  179- 
Prayer-meetings,  Episcopalian  opposition  to, 

276. 
Preach,  any  competent  layman  has  the  right 

to,  149. 
Preaching   Congregationalism,  a   poor   and 
discreditable  boast,  never  to  have  done  it, 
302. 
Presbyter,  what?  101. 

Presbyterian  law  has  become  so  much  of  a 

science,  that  nobody  but  a  lawyer  can 

now  understand  it,  281. 

Presbyterianism  in  Massachusetts,  efforts  to 

introduce   it   into    Congregationalism    a 

failure,  223. 

Presbyterianism,  non-Republicanism  of,  291. 

Presbyterianism,  powerless  as  a  conservator 

of  doctrine,  283. 
Presbyterianism  in  England,  developed  into 

Unitarianism,  283. 
Presbyterian  Church,  first  in  Boston,  settled 
Dr.  Channing  as  its  Pastor,  and  is  now  the 
leading  Unitarian  Church,  285. 
Previous  question,  179. 
Primitive  Church,  governed  itself,  13. 
Profession,  receiving  members  on,  184. 
Propounding  Candidates,  184. 
Public  offences,  scandalous,  193. 
Purity  of  the  Church,  most  promoted  by 

Congregationalism,  259.  *• 

Puseyism,  Bishop  Eastburn's  ineffectual  fight 

against,  in  Boston,  281. 
Qualifications  of  Pastor,  Elder,  Teacher,  and 

Bishop,  scripturally  identical,  103. 
Question,  debating  an  undebatable  one,  out 

of  order,  181. 
Quorum  of  a  Council,  what?  216. 
Rationalism,  the    outgrowth    of   "strong" 
Church   governments,  in   Germany  and 
Scotland,  283. 
Reconsideration,  181. 
Report,  acceptance  of,  183. 
Report,  adoption  of,  183. 
Reports,  183. 

Republic,  our,  the  child  of  Congregational- 
ism, 290. 
Responsibility,    individual,  more   developed 
by  Congregationalism'  than  by  any  other 
system,  255. 
Restoration  of  a  minister,  234. 
Restoration  of  offenders,  192. 
Revivals,  Congregationalism  specially  favors, 

268. 
Rules  of  order,  174. 

Ruling  Elder,  lay,  an  uilscriptural  oflSce,  111. 
Ruling  Elder,  old  New-England  theory  of, 

122. 
Ruling  Elder,  old  New-England,  founded  on 
a  misinterpretation;  and  a  fedlure,  and 
tioon  abandoned,  130. 


Ruling  Elder,  old  New  -  England,  never  an 
approximation  toward  the  Presbyterian 
office  of  that  name,  132. 

Saybrook  Platform,  a  compromise  between 
Congregationalism  and  Presbyterianism, 
223. 

Session,  the,  the  Church,  in  Presbyterianism, 
292. 

Shepherd,  the  Pastor  a,  100. 

"  Six  months'  notice,"  unscriptural,  uncon- 
gregational,  needless,  inexpedient,  disgrace- 
ful, and  disastrous,  144. 

"Six  months'  notice,"  under,  the  vote  ol 
Parish  to  dismiss  ultimates  the  legal  rela^ 
tion  and  terminates  all  claim  for  salary, 
without  a  Council,  213. 

Society,  Ecclesiastical  (see  Parish),  206. 

South,  the,  Congregationalism  good  for,  240, 
299. 

Speaker,  interrupting  one,  out  of  order,  181. 

Special  Committees,  182. 

Standing  Committees,  182. 

Standing  Rules  of  a  Church  (form  of),  173. 

"  Stated  Supplies,"  Congregationalism  recog- 
nizes them  only  as  exceptions,  ad  interim. 
149. 

Stimulus,  Congregationalism  gives  special 
»  to  her  pastors,  266. 

"Strong"  government  of  the  Church  in 
England  and  Scotland,  has  not  kept  out 
heresy,  281,  283.  ^ 

Strong  government  of  the  Koman-Catholic 
Church  has  not  held  it  back  fi;om  heathen- 
ism, 282. 

Suicide,  not  the  duty  of  a  Church  and  Par- 
ish, 204. 

Sum,  largest,  question  on  first,  181. 

Suspension,  effect  of,  191. 

Synodic  way,  the  old,  306. 

Table,  to  lay  on,  motion  to,  179. 

Teacher,  what?  101. 

Temptation,  freedom  from,  of  Congregational 
Pastors,  263. 

Testimony  of  Commentators  to  the  equality 
of  Bishops  and  Pastors,  &c.,  88. 

Testimony  of  eminent  scholars  to  the  equality 
and  identity  of  Bishops  and  Pastors,  &c., 
77. 

Testimony  of  Ecclesiastical  Historians  to  the 
equality  and  identity  of  Bishops  and 
Pastors,  97. 

Testimony  of  Fathers,  &c.,  to  the  equality 
and  identity  of  Bishops  and  Pastors,  92. 

"  The  Church,"  not  known  to  Scripture,  31, 
49. 

Time,  longest,  question  on  first,  181. 

Timothy,  so  fcir  from  being  "  Bishop  of  Ephe- 
sus,"  was  an  Evangelist,  109. 

Tongues,  diversities  of,  76. 

Transfer  of  Pastors,  common  in  the  early 
days  of  New  England,  143. 

Treasurer  of  a  Church  should  be  appointed, 
168, 173. 

Trial  of  offence,  191. 

Tribble,  Rev.  Andrew,  the  means  of  aiding 
Jefferson  to  understand  Congregationalism, 
and  thence  to  shape  this  Republic,  290. 

Unitarianism,  would  probably  have  swept 
and  conquered  New  England  but  for  Con- 
gregationalism, 287. 

Unitarianism  in  New  England  not  logically 
traceable  to  Congregationalism,  286. 


INDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 


XXV 


Unitarianism  in  England  grew  out  of  Presby- 

terianism,  283. 
Unitarian  Church  in  New  England,  first,  was 

the  first  Episcopal  Church,  285. 
Unitarian,  not  a  single  strictly  Congregational 

Church  in  England  became,  284. 
"Vacate  the  smaller  Church  oflaces,  how  to, 

196. 
Vacate  the  Deaconship,  how  to,  197. 
Vacate  the  Pastorship,  how  to,  198. 
Violations  of  articles  of  faith  and  covenant, 

194. 
Vote,  doubting  a,  180. 


Voting,  180. 

Voting,  by  Churches,  in  a  Council,  the  old 

way,  and  the  best,  216. 
Waldenses  kept  the  faith  pure,  28. 
West,    the,    Congregationalism    good     for, 

West,  no  longer  pre-empted  to  Presbyterian- 
ism,  303. 
Whole,  Committee  of,  182. 
Wickliffe,  the  first  modem  Copgregationalist, 

Worship,  methods  of,  superior  practicableness 
of  Congregationalism  in,  248. 


INDEX    OF    NAMES. 


Aaron,  150. 

A.  B,  0,  ¥,  M,  228,  277. 

Aberdeen,  284. 

Abington,  264. 

Achaia,  54. 

Adams,  244,  290. 

Adger,  121. 

JErius,  96. 

Agnew,  261. 

Agrippa,  113. 

Ainsworth,  122, 127. 

Alabama,  7. 

Alexander,  18,  90, 108, 139,  289,  301. 

Alexandria,  37. 

Alford,  9,  10,  12,  73,  91, 101, 102, 106, 107, 

108,  111,  114, 116, 117, 121,  133,  138,  139, 

192. 
Allin,  151. 

Amesius,  26,  29,  31,  35,  43,  79. 
Ambrose,  11. 
Ambrosiaster,  97. 
American    Congregational   Association,  207, 

210,  221. 
American  Congregational  Union,  228. 
American  Uome-Missionary  Society,  228. 
Amsterdam.  122, 127,  246. 
Ananias*,  140. 
Anderson.  244,  245. 
Andrew,  133. 
Andover,  303,  304. 
'•  A  Neighbor,"  219. 
Angel  of  the  Church,  70. 
"Anglo-American  Church,"  267. 
Annan,  285. 

"  Answer  of  the  Elders,"  129, 151. 
Antioch,  19,  22,  32,  37,  50,  62, 133, 138, 139. 
Antioch  in  Pisidia,  32, 
Antiocheans,  99. 
ApoUos,  54. 

"  Apostolical  Constitutions,"  69,  97, 136. 
Aquila,  32,  33,  52. 
Arabia,  23. 
Arabians,  37. 

Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  244,  245. 
Archbishop  of  York,  58,  239,  245. 
Aristophanes,  16. 
Aristotle,  35. 
Arkansas,  7. 

Arlington-street  Church,  285. 
Arminius,  79. 
Artemas,  108. 
Asbury,  246 
Ashton,  131. 
Asia,  37. 

[xxvi] 


Asia,  Churches  of,  36. 

"  Assembly's  Annotations,"  90. 

"  Assembly's  Digest,"  248,  281. 

Athanasius,  74,  88. 

Austerfield,  68. 

Austin,  233. 

Augustine,  11,  96,  98. 

Avery,  201.  220. 

Babylon,  32. 

Bachiler,  125. 

Backus,  210,  264. 

Bacon,  88, 146,  223,  224,  225. 

Badger,  154. 

Baker,  207. 

Ballantyne,  253,  283. 

Balch,  248. 

Bancroft,  130,  290,  291. 

Bangor,  304. 

Baptists,  5,  6,  24,  287. 

Barber,  263. 

Barclay,  289. 

Barnes,  18,  45,  46,  69,  70,  76, 90, 109, 138,139, 

140,  146,  264,  288,  289. 
Baronius,  11. 
Barrow,  69. 

Baumgarten,  14, 18,  30,  50,  90. 
Bawtry,  58. 
Baxter,  81,  284. 
BayUes,  128. 
Beatae  Virgini.  99. 
Bedford,  201,  202,  219,  220. 
Beecher,  226,  289. 
Belcher,  24.  291. 
Belknap,  285. 
Bellamy,  264,  286. 
Beman,  289. 

Bengel,  45,  46,  74,  89, 121. 
Bennett,  29,  34,  38,  85. 
Berea,  32. 

Bernaldus  Constantiensis,  96. 
Bernard,  40,  126,  161. 
Bethlem,  264. 
Beza,  16,  18. 

"  Biblical  Repository,"  146. 
"  Bibliotheca  Sacra,"  158. 
Bilson,  122. 
Bingham,  107. 
Bishop,  144. 
Bishop's  Bible,  18. 
Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  245. 
Bishop  of  London,  243. 
Bishop  of  Peterborough,  245. 
Blaikie,  285. 
Blanchard,  235. 


INDEX   OF  NAMES. 


XXVII 


Blondelius,  115. 

Bliss,  219. 

Bloomfield,  90. 

Bogue  and  Bennett,  284. 

Bolton,  219. 

Bomberger,  87. 

"Book  of  Lutheran  Church,"  110. 

"Book  of  Middleboro'  Church,"  132. 

Bosheth,  80. 

Boston,  143, 151, 155,  222,  223,  226,  232,  239, 

243,  285,  306. 
Boston  Association,  226. 
"  Boston  Recorder,"  285. 
Bouton,  234,  235. 
Bourne,  247. 
Bowditch,  284. 
Bowman,  122. 

Bradford,  58, 122, 127, 128, 145,  228,  277. 
Bradshaw,  31,  43. 
Branford,  224. 
*Braintree,  143,  264. 
Breckenridge,  86,  120  121. 
Brennius,  16,  74,  89,  121. 
Brewster,  58,  124,  127,  128, 131. 
Brooke,  Lord,  129. 
Brookfield,  207. 
Brookhouse,  204. 
Browne,  59,  122. 
Brownell,  146. 
Brown  University,  245. 
Buck,  122. 
Buckminster,  286. 
Budington,  243.  , 

Buffalo,  121. 
Bullions,  289. 
Bunsen,  100. 
Burgess,  235. 
Burke,  254. 
Burnett,  48. 
Burr,  202,  207,  220. 
Bushnell,  146. 
Butler,  222. 
Byram  River,  300. 
Cajetan,  88. 
California,  7,  226. 
Callistus,  282. 
Calvin,  17,  45,  46,  H,  73,  77,  79,  99, 102, 108, 

116, 118, 119, 121, 139,  283. 
Cambridge,  151,  221. 
Cambridge  Association,  225. 
Cambridge  Platform,  35,  44, 59, 123, 124, 130, 

142, 148, 150. 151, 187,  205. 
Campbell,  20,  97. 
Capellus,  Jacobus,  116. 
Cape  Town,  281. 
Cappedocia,  37. 
Carpus,  113. 
Carter,  145. 
Carthage,  37. 
Castle  of  Bayonne,  244. 
Catawba  Circuit,  250. 
Cave,  100. 
Ceillier,  100. 
Cenchrea,  32,  36,  69. 
"  Centuriae  Magdeburgenses,"  99. 
Cesarea,  32. 

"Ceylon  Mission's  Report,"  277. 
Chandler,  244. 
Channing,  286,  287. 
Charlestown,  145,  243. 
Chase,  69. 
Chauncy,  82, 148, 146, 148, 154,  205. 


Cheever,  235. 

Chelsea,  235. 

Chester,  289. 

Chilmark,  222. 

Cholinus,  73. 

"  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,"  262. 

"  Christian  Examiner,"  146,  209,  210. 

"  Christian  Spectator,"  71,  100,  119, 146. 

"  Christians,"  5. 

Chrysostom,  14,  20, 96,  97, 107. 

Church,  264. 

Church  of  the  Advent,  Boston,  281. 

Church  of  England  in  Hebron,  244. 

Church  of  the  Pilgrims  in  Brooklyn,  248. 

Church  of  the  Puritans,  New  York,  221. 

"  Church  Review,"  100. 

Cilicia,  36. 

Claggett,  245. 

Clark,  129, 131,  208,  223,  228,  233,  244. 

Clarke,  46,  70,  89. 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  94. 

Clement  of  Rome,  92,  98. 

Clyfton,  122. 

Cobbet,  143. 

Coffin,  213. 

Cogswell,  235. 

Coke,  246. 

Coleman,  21,  44,  68,  86,  99,  106,  135,  146, 

158,202,224,282. 
Colenso,  281,  287. 
Coleridge,  85. 
CoUicott,  125. 

"  Colonial  Records  of  Connecticut,"  222. 
"Colonial  Records  of  Massachusetts,"  208, 

209,  222,  226. 
Colosse,  32,  36. 
Colton,  71,  244,  281,  282. 
Concord,  234. 
"  Conflict  of  Ages,"  280. 
"  Congregationalist,"  213,  241,  248,  304. 
Congregational  Methodists,  5. 
"Congregational  Quarterly,"  65,  136,  199, 

201,  202,  207,  214,  217,  219,  220,  221,  222, 

226,228. 
"  Congregational  Record,"  207. 
Connecticut,  222,  223,  224,  225,  226,  285. 
"  Contributions  to  Eccles.  Hist.  Conn.,"  223, 

224. 
Conybeare  and  Howaon,  45,  46,  87,  102,  116, 

134, 139. 
Cooke,  223. 
Cooley,  223. 
Cooper,  293. 

Corinth,  32,  36,  37,  51,  52. 
Cottian  Alps,  23. 
Cotton,  29,  36,  40,  59,  68,  71,  82,  123,  124, 

125,  129,  141,  143, 145, 148, 151, 161,  205, 

208!  225,  227. 
Council  of  Trent,  98, 136. 
Coverdale,  78. 
Crabe,  128. 
Craighead,  248. 
Cranmer,  18,  72,  78. 
Cree  Church,  122. 
Crete,  107, 108, 138. 
Cretes,  37. 
Crispus,  106. 
Gumming,  289. 

Cummings,  155, 192,  220,  221,  235. 
Cureton,  99,  100. 
Cushing,  175, 177, 178. 
Cushman,  128, 131. 


XXVIII 


INDEX   OF   NAMES. 


Cyprian,  37, 119. 

Cyrene,  37. 

Daille,  99, 100. 

Dalmatia.  108. 

Dalton,  125. 

Damascus,  32,  140. 

Dana,  224,  264. 

Danvers,  221. 

Davenport,  29,  30,  35,  40,  42,  60,  82, 123, 141, 

143, 148,  205,  222,  223. 
Davidson,  16,  17,  21,  29,  33,  44,  50,  52,  61, 

68,  71,  75,  86, 114,  118, 119, 134, 146,  157. 
Davis,  248,  285. 
Dean,  244. 

Dedham,  151,  207,  218,  221. 
Delaware,  7,  246. 
Delft,  151. 

Demosthenes,  16,  35. 
Denmark,  244. 
Derbe,  32. 

"  Der  Deutschen  Zeitschrift,  283. 
De  Tocqueville,  290. 
De  Wette,  46,  51,  70. 
"Dialogue  between  young  and  ancient  men," 

&c.,  123. 127. 
Dickinson,  83. 
Diodati,  18. 

District  of  Columbia,  7. 
"Divine  Right  of  Church  (Jovenunent,"  &c., 

120.  ^ 

Doane,  247. 
Doddridge,  70.  73,  81. 
Dodge,  260,  261. 
DoUinger,  282,  284,  286. 
Dorchester,  221. 
Duffleld,  289. 
Duke  of  Aremberg,  178. 
Duxbury,  228. 
Dwight,  85, 149,  224. 
Eadie.  90. 
Eastburn,  281. 
Easton,  202,  203,204. 
Easter  Sunday,  249. 
Eastham,  228. 
East- Windsor  Seminary,  304. 
Ebrard,  45.  *■ 

"  Eclectic  Review,"  146. 
Eddy,  132, 146,  213. 
"  Edinburgh  Review,"  100. 
Edwards,  233,  234. 
Egypt,  23,  87. 
Elamites,  37. 

"Elders,  Answer  of  the,"  129, 151. 
Ellicott,  70. 
Eliot,  145. 
Elliott,  223,  255. 
.      Ely,  235. 
*     Embury,  245. 
Emerson,  243. 

Emmons,  26,  62,  54,  60,  84,  225,  264. 
England,  143,  244. 286. 
Ephesus,  31,  32,  37',  105, 107, 109, 140. 
Epiphanius,  107. 
"  Episcopal  Recorder,"  245. 
Episcopius,  79, 

Erasmus,  16, 18,  73, 101, 139, 156. 
Estius,  101. 
Ethiopia,  265. 
Eusebius,  38, 107. 
Evangelist,  71. 
Evangelus,  95. 
Evagrius,  95, 102. 


Exeter,  143,  235. 

Fabritius,  157. 

Fairchild,  235. 

Fairfield,  223. 

Fales,  207. 

Farmington,  264. 

Father  Ignatius,  283. 

Faunce,  131. 

Felt,  129,  131,  208,  220. 

Ferris,  246. 

Fishback,  290. 

Fitch,  219,  224. 

Fitchburg,  221. 

Fiske,  220. 

Flacii  lUyrici,  16. 

Flint,  226. 

Florida,  7. 

Fox,  122. 

Foxcroft,  83. 

Franklin,  264. 

Freeman,  285.  , 

French,  235. 

FuUer,  129,  155, 156. 

Gage,  248. 

Gaius,  106. 

Galatia,  32,  a3. 

GaUlee,  32,  36. 

Gannett,  285. 

Garratt,  87. 

General  Assembly  of  Presbyterian   Church, 

230. 
Geneva,  283. 

"  Genevan  Version,"  18,  72. 
Georgia,  7.  * 

'  Gerhard,  116. 
Gibbon,  44,  81,  278. 
Gieseler,  21,  97,  118. 
Gillett,  245,  289,  294,  295. 
Gomarus,  89. 
Grafton,  221. 
Gray,  200,  226. 
Great  Eastern,  57. 
Green,  288. 

Greenwood,  122,  285,  286. 
Gregory  VII.,  11. 
Griswold,  276 
Grotius,  17,  45,  70,  74,  75,  89, 106, 108, 115, 

116,121,139,156. 
Groton,  221,  222. 
Gualtherus,  73,  74,  75,  88. 
Guild,  245,  287. 
Guilford,  143,  223. 
Gulliver,  285. 

Guericke,  13, 97, 100, 135, 158. 
Guizot,  85. 

Ilackett,  50,  91, 108, 139 
Hagenbach,  283. 
Hale,  223,  283,  290. 
Halifax,  249. 
Hall,  88, 146,  248,  285. 
Hammond.  16,  75,  81. 
Hampton,  125,  143. 

Hanbury,  40,  44,  59,  122,  148, 151,  161. 
"Handbook  of  Presbyterian  Church,"  239, 

291,  292. 
Ilarker,  248. 
Hartford,  224,  225,  226. 
Harvard  College,  143, 287. 
Harworth.  58. 
Hawes,222. 
Hawks,  244,  245,  246. 
Hawley,  262. 


I 


INDEX    OF   NAMES. 


XXIX 


Hebron,  244. 

Hellenists,  133. 

Hemmenway,  264. 

Hening,  244. 

Henniker,  209,  210. 

Henry,  89. 

Henry  IV.,  11. 

Herle,  161. 

Hermann,  31. 

Hero,  99. 

Hertzog,  87. 

Heylyn,  74. 

Hierapolis,  32,  36. 

Higginson,  143, 145. 

Hilary,  94, 119. 

Hilary  of  Rome,  97. 

Hilary,  the  deacon,  107. 

Hill,  87,  248. 

Hitchcock,  233. 

Hoadley,  81. 

Hodge,  74,  90, 101. 

Holland,  122,  239. 

Hollister,  245. 

Hollis-street  Church,  202. 

Homes,  222. 

Hook,  145,  285. 

Hooke,  143, 144. 

Hooker, Kichard,  80. 

Hooker,  Thomas,  29,  35,  43,  60,  82, 123, 130, 

142, 145, 148, 154,  205,  222. 
Hopkins,  84,  264. 
Hornius,  192. 
Horsley,  75. 

House  of  Commons,  178." 
Howard-street  Church,  Salem,  221,  231,  232, 

233,  234. 
Hubbard,  145,  264. 
Humphrey,  223,  239,  243,  244. 
Hunter,  25,  58. 
Hyde,  226,  264. 
Hutchinson,  124, 125, 129, 131, 144,  205,  208, 

254. 
Iconium,  32, 138. 
Ide  264. 

Ignatius',  37,  99, 100, 136, 145. 
Illinois,  7,  226. 
Independents,  2. 
Indiana,  7,  226. 
Indian  Territory,  7. 
Iowa,  7,  226. 
Ipswich,  143, 151,  264. 
Ireland,  286. 
IrensDus,  34,  93. 
Isodore,  136. 
Isodore  of  Seville,  96. 
Isle  of  Poplars,  283. 
Jackson,  58. 
Jacob,  35,  44. 
Jacobson,  87. 
James,  107, 109, 145,  243. 
Jameson,  84. 
Jarratt,  246. 
Jefferson,  290,  293. 
Jennings,  71. 
Jerome,  11,  22,  91,  94,  96,  97,  98, 102, 107, 

139. 
Jerusalem,  22,  32,  37,  40,  50,  51,  62, 107,  111, 

134, 168. 
Jessop,  58. 
John,  99. 

John  of  Goch,  77.  ' 
Johns,  249. 


Johnson,  122, 127,  209. 

Joppa,  3a. 

Judea,  36,  37. 

Judas,  111. 

Junkin,  288. 

Justin  Martyr,  93, 136. 

Kansas,  7. 

Kentucky,  7,  248. 

Kendrick,  12,  73,  76, 102, 114, 121. 

Killen,  76,  98. 

King  James,  139. 

"  King  James's  Version,"  72. 

King,  Lord  Peter,  79. 

King's  Chapel,  Boston,  285. 

King  William  Street,  122. 

Kirkland,  287. 

Kitto,  87, 100. 

"  Kitto's  Journal,"  100. 

Kniston,  122. 

Kuinoel,  134. 

Kurtz,  98,  135. 

Lambeth,  245. 

Lamson,  146,  291. 

Laodicea,  32,  36. 

Laodiceans,  57. 

Lardner,  80. 

Launcelot,  John  Paul,  96. 

Lawrence,  125,  286. 

Lechford,  44,  123, 144. 

Lee,  122,  264. 

Leicester,  209. 

Lesley,  225. 

Leyden,  25,  59, 122, 127, 128, 151,  228, 290. 

Leyden  Church,  in  Boston,  248. 

Lexington,  247,  290. 

Liddell  and  Scott,  16, 105. 

Liebetrut,  283. 

Lightfoot,  16,  75. 

Limborch,  75,  78. 

Lincoln,  249. 

Lisbon,  225. 

Litchfield,  222,  226. 

Lombard!  Pauperes,  23. 

London,  59, 122,  244,  248. 

"  London  Quarterly,"  100. 

"  Loi^on  Times,"  281,  286. 

"  London  and  Westminster  Ketiew,"  24. 

Lord  Chatham,  282. 

Louisiana,  7. 

Lucian,  16. 

LUcke,  115. 

Luther,  16,  23,  77. 

"  Lutheran  Book,"  110. 

Lybia,  37. 

Lydda,  32. 

Lynn,  143. 

Lyman,  223. 

Lystra,  32,  138. 

Macedonia,  95, 109. 

Mack,  91, 134. 

Macknight,  72,  75,  89. 

Madison-square  Presbyterian    Church,  New 

York,  260. 
"Madura  Mission's  Report,"  277. 
"Magnalia,"  130, 143, 151,  222,  227. 
Magnesians,  99. 
Maine,  227. 
Maiden,  226,  235. 
Maldonatus,  10. 
Manchester,  213,  219. 
Mann,  233,  286. 
Manning,  245,  287. 


XXX 


INDEX    OF   NAMES. 


Marcion,  93. 

Marlborough,  222. 

Marsh,  283. 

Marshfield,  228. 

Martha's  Vineyard,  155. 

Mary,  99. 

Maryland,  7,  245. 

Mason,  70,  85. 

Massachusetts,  129,  130,  206,  207,  208,  210, 

211,  212,  213,  216,  222,  223,  226,  227,  230, 

232,  285,  286,  287,  290,  301. 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  221,  225. 
Ma.ssuet,  34. 
Mather,  Cotton,  60,  68,  82, 124, 129, 130.  143, 

145, 148, 151, 161,  205,  222,  223,  225,  227. 
Mather,  Increase,  125, 143, 145, 154, 161,  218, 

227. 
Mather,  Richard,  52,  60, 161. 
Mather,  Samuel,  142, 157, 192,  205,  218. 
Maximus  Tyrius,  16. 
Mayer,  134. 
Mayflower,  128,  290. 
Mavo,  125. 
M'Clure.  125, 148. 
Meade,  243,  245,  247. 
Medes,  37. 
Medway,  264. 
Melancthon,  78. 
Mendon,  222,  226. 
Mendon  Association,  226. 
Menochius  and  Tirinus,  74. 
Mesopotamia,  37. 

*'  Message  to  RuUng  Elders,"  110, 117. 
Metcalf,  202. 
"Methodist  Book   of  DiscipUne,"  29,  242, 

247,  250,  262,  264,  271. 
Meyer,  50. 
Michaelis,  70,  91. 
Michigan,  7,  226.  • 

Middle  States,  7. 
Miletus,  103, 105, 107, 109. 
Milner,  97. 

Milton,  23,  24,  80, 141, 155, 156. 
Minnesota,  7,  226. 
Mitchell,  206. 
Moneta,  23. 
Moody,  143. 
Moorhead,  285. 
More,  246. 
Mormons,  117. 
Morristown,  288. 
Morse,  223. 

Morton,  58, 143, 145,  225. 
Mosheim,  13, 14,  43,  75,  97, 134,  278. 
Mount  Seir,  23. 
Murdock,  13,  91,  97. 
Naomi,  265. 
Natick,  154. 
Neal,  40, 150. 
Neander,  13, 18,  33,  68,  69,  75,  98,  100,  118, 

119,  133,  135,  158,  282. 
Nebraska,  7,  226. 
"  Neighbor,  A,"  219. 
Nelson,  225. 
Newbury,  143,  264. 
New  England,  7,  25,  129,  131, 145, 148,  227, 

228,  244,  263,  254,  266,  284,  304. 
"New  Engiander,"  61,  71,  88,  100, 146. 
New  Haven,  143,  223,  224,  225,  304. 
New  Hampshire,  226. 
New  Jersey,  7,  244. 
Newman,  87, 143,  209,  283. 


Newport,  264. 

Newtown  (Cambridge),  145,  208. 

New  York,  7,  210,  226,  286. 

"New- York  Observer,"  121. 

Nicanor,  133. 

Nicolas,  133. 

Nicolaus  Cusanus,  96. 

Nicopolis,  108. 

Niles,  264. 

Nitria,  99. 

"  Nobla  lieyczon,"  23. 

Noel,  276. 

Non-juring  Bishops,  245. 

"  North-American  Keview,"  208. 

North  Carolina,  7,  250. 

Norton,  143,  218,  219. 

Norway,  283. 

Norwich,  225. 

Nott,  213. 

Nymphas,  32,  36. 

Oceanus,  95. 

(Ecumenius,  116. 

Ohio,  7,  227. 

Oliver,  161,  290. 

Olshausen,  12,  73,  76, 102, 114,  121, 134. 

Onderdonk,  247. 

Onesimus,  36. 

Ongar,  71. 

Ord,  249. 

Oregon,  7,  226. 

Orlgen,  37,  119. 

Oudin,  100. 

Owen,  16,  17,  31,  33,  35,  45,  46,  73,  82,  111, 

146, 151, 154. 
Pagnini,  16. 
Palfrey,  145, 152,  208. 
Pamphylia,  37, 138. 
Papists,  117. 

Park,  225,  252,  255,  279,  286,  287,  290. 
Parker,  144,  206. 
Parkman,  131. 
Parmenas,  133. 
Parsons,  287. 
Parthians,  37. 
Patmos,  71. 
Paul  of  Samosata,  37. 
Payson  Church.  South  Boston,  £35. 
Pearson,  99, 100. 
Pelham,  264. 
Pennsylvania,  7. 
Pepperell,  301. 
Pergamos,  32. 
Perkms.  122. 148. 
Perry,  235,  245. 
Persia,  23. 

"  Peshito-Syriac  Version,"  91. 
Peterborough,  286. 
Peter  Lombard,  98. 
Peters,  244. 
Petra,  23. 
Phebe,  69. 
Phelps,  260,  261. 
Philadelphia,  32,  288. 
Philadelphians,  99. 
Philemon,  32,  36. 
Philip,  the  Evangelist,  71, 133. 
Philippi,  19,  32,  90,  95, 102, 134. 
Philippians,  99. 
Philo,  16. 
Phrygia,  37. 

Pickering,  200.  201,  202,  203,  204,  207,  22a 
Pierpont,  202,  222. 


INDEX   OF  NAMES. 


XXXI 


Piscator,  16. 

Pisidia,  138. 

Pitt,  290. 

Plainfield,  209. 

Plato,  35. 

PUny,  70, 106. 

Plumbe,  262. 

Plumptre,  87. 

Plymouth,  25, 128,  225,  228,  239,  290. 

Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn,  210. 

Polanus,  78. 

Polycarp,  92,  93,  94,  99. 

Pond,  60,  61,  68,  71,  86,  207. 

"Pontif,  Rom,  De  Ordinat.,  &c.,"  22. 

Pontus,  37. 

Poole,  16,  70,  74,  89, 116. 

Pope  Urban  II.,  96,  98. 

Popkin,  285. 

Portsmouth,  143. 

Porter,  264. 

Poughkeepsie,  233. 

Powell,  126,  226. 

*'  Prayer-book,"  250,  270. 

*'  Presbyterian  Banner,"  284. 

"Presbyterian  Book,"  49,  51,  52,  53,  54, 110, 

111^121,239,242,250,260,261. 
Priestly,  283. 
Prince,  124,  243. 
Princeton,  221,  304. 
"Princeton  Review,"  100, 114, 120, 121, 146, 

"  Principles  of  Church  Order,"  40,  60, 61, 68. 

Prochorus,  133. 

ProToost,  245. 

Priscilla  and  Aquila,  32,  33. 

Prussian  Churches,  287. 

Ptolemais,  32. 

Punchard,  60,  61,  68,  86, 140,  168,  195,  205, 

Puritans,  24. 

Pusey,  282,  283. 

Puteoli,  32. 

Quint,  65,  199,  201,  202,  214,  217. 

Reading,  220,  221. 

"Recollections  of  Anelo- American  Church," 

267. 
"Records,  Massachusetts  Colony,"  208,209, 

222,226. 
"Records,  New-Haven  Colony,  222. 
Rehoboth,  143,  200,  201,  204,  209,  219,  220. 
Reinerus,  23. 
"Report  of  Conference  at  Constantinople," 

277. 
"  Report  of  Deputation  to  India,"  277. 
"  Rheims  Version,"  18,  72. 
Rhode  Island,  226. 
Rice,  301. 
Richards,  235. 
Richmond,  249. 

"  Richmond  Religious  Herald,"  250. 
"  Richmond  Whig,"  249. 
Rippon,  287. 
Robbins,  125,  224,  225. 
Robinson,  16,  25,  26,  31,  35,  40,  43,  59,  79, 

122,  123,  124, 126, 127, 128, 141, 148, 150, 

161,290.         '''»'»' 
Rochester,  58. 
Rogers,  143- 
Rome,  32,  52,  298. 
Romans,  99. 

Rosencrone,  Count  <Je,  244. 
Rothe,  118, 119. 


Rowley,  143. 

Roxbury,  148,  226. 

Rudolphus,  11. 

Rumney  Marsh,  235. 

Russell,  225. 

Ruth,  265. 

Ryland,  98. 

Salem,  131, 143, 145,  220,  221,  223,  231,232, 

233,  243. 
Salem  Athenteum,  221. 
Salisbury,  143. 
Samaria,  32,  86, 140. 
Sampson,  45. 

Sandwich,  2t)2,  207,  220,  221. 
Sardis,  32. 
Saron,  32. 

Savage,  130, 131, 151. 
Savoy  Confession,  40. 
Sawyer,  86,  287. 
Say  and  Seal,  Lord,  129, 208. 
Saybrook,  222,  223. 
"  Saybrook  Platform,"  219,  224. 
Scales,  209. 

SchafF,  13,  98, 135, 158,  282. 
Schmucker,  86. 
Scituate,143. 
Sclater,  79. 
Scotland,  284,  286. 
Scott,  90. 

Scrooby,  24.  58,  239. 
Scottow,  131,  245. 
Seabury,  244,  245. 
"  Septuagint,"  33. 
Sharp,  245. 

Shedd,  13,  98, 100, 135, 158. 
Sheldon,  202,  203,  204. 
Shepard,  84, 129, 151,  223. 
Shunamite,  265. 
Siberia,  265. 
Silas,  111. 
Simon,  18. 
Skelton,  145. 

Smith,  16,  31,  36,  87, 122,  233,  235, 283. 
Smith  and  Anthon,  286. 
Smyrna,  32,  80. 
Smymians,  99. 
Smyth,  85, 121, 122. 
Snell,  223,  226. 
Socrates,  35. 
Solomon's  Porch,  37. 
Somers,  264. 
South  Carolina,  7. 
Southern  States,  7. 

"  Southern  Presbyterian  Review,"  121. 
Southwark,  122. 

"  Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims,"  71, 114,  210,  221. 
Stansbury,  289. 
Stapfer,  79. 

Steams,  201,  202, 219,  220. 
Stebbins,  221. 
Steele,  131. 
Stephanas,  106. 
Stephen, 133. 
Stevens,  242,  246. 
Stiles,  44,  218,  222,  225. 
Stith,  244. 

St.  John's  Church,  Elizabethtown,  243,  244. 
St.  Nicholas  Lane,  122. 
Stockbridge,  264. 
Storrs,  207,  223,  264. 
Street,  143, 144. 


XXXII 


INDEX   OP  NAMES. 


Strong,  207. 

Stuart,  45,  46,  70, 116. 

Studley,  122. 

Strype,  122. 

Suicer,  16. 

Suffolk,  North,  Association,  225. 

Sumner,  156. 

Surrey  Chapel,  248. 

Sweden,  246,  283. 

Swedenborgiana,  117. 

Switzerland,  283. 

Syria,  23,  36. 

Syrian  Convent  at  Nitria,  99. 

Tarsians,  99. 

Taunton,  143,  144  ' 

Taylor,  86,  213. 

Tennessee,  7,  248. 

TertuUian,  12,  29,  31,  37, 106, 156. 

Texas,  7. 

Thacher,  131.  222. 

Theodoret,  9l,  96,  97, 107. 

Theophilus,  37. 

♦'  The  Hawaiian  Islands,"  277. 

"  The  Independent,"  285. 

*'  The  PanopUst,"  221,  223. 

"  The  Presbyterian,"  120. 

Thessalonica,  32,  117. 

Thompson,  121,  146,  200,  201,  204,  220. 

Thornton,  254, 

ThomweU,  120, 121. 

Thurston,  226. 

Thucydides,  16,  35. 

Thyatira,  32. 

"  Tigurine  Version,"  73. 

Tigurini,  16. 

Tunothy,  46, 71, 95, 101, 107, 108, 109, 134, 146. 

Timon,  133. 

Tindal,  18. 

Titus,  71, 107, 108, 109, 138, 139, 145. 

Tompson.  52, 161. 

Torrey,  13,  98, 100, 135,  233,  235. 

Tracy,  140, 168. 

Trajan,  106. 

Trallians,  99. 

Tribble,  290. 

Troas,  32, 113. 

"The  Wesleyan,"263. 

Trumbull,  222, 223>  224,  225. 

Tucker,  289. 

Tudeschus,  96. 

Tunbridge  WeUs,  284. 

Turell,  224. 

Turner,  46,  101. 

Turretin,  79. 

Tychicus,  108. 

Tyndale,  18,  72. 

Tyringham,  201,  220. 

Tyre,  32. 

Uhden,  44. 

Ulhnan,  88. 

Unitarians,  5,  6. 

Universalists,  5,  6. 

University  of  Vermont,  233. 

Upham,  60,  86, 149, 155,  207,  221,  227. 

Usher,  100,  244. 


Vaill,  235. 

Vane,  208. 

Vaudes,  23. 

Vaughan,  33,  40,  44,  87,  253. 

VedeUus,  99,  100. 

Vermont,  226. 

Virginia,  7,  245,  247. 

Vitringa,  70,  115, 118, 119. 

Waddington,  97. 

Walch,  77. 

Waldenses,  23. 

Walker,  155,  156,  210. 

Wallingford,  224. 

Walter,  83. 

Ward,  151. 

Wardlaw,  284. 

Ware,  287. 

Wareham,  213. 

Washburn,  209. 

Watts,  157. 

Webb,  222. 

"  Weekly  Register,"  286. 

Welch,  225. 

Welde,  148. 

Wellman,  61,  88,  290. 

Wells,  143,  264. 

Wesley,  246. 

Wesley ans,  6. 

West,"264. 

Western  States,  7. 

Westford,  221. 

"  Westminster  Review,"  282. 

Weymouth,  143. 

Whately,  70,  134, 145. 

Wheelwright,  143. 

Whitaker,  222. 

Whitby,  90. 

White,  127,  219, 244,  245. 

Whitfield,  223,  285. 

Whitmore,  200. 

Whitney,  204. 

Wickliffe,  24,  72,  77. 

Wiesinger,  70. 

Wigglesworth,  83. 

WiUiams,  284. 

Wilmer,  262. 

Wilson,  114, 119, 145, 146, 284. 

Windham,  225. 

Winslow,  128. 

Winthrop,  130,  131, 151,  208. 

Wisconsin,  7,  226. 

Wise,  29,  40,  44,  60,  84,  130,  205,  219,  222, 

223,  291. 
Wisner,  131, 164. 
Withington,  264. 
Woodbridge,  143. 
Woburn,  145,  226. 
Woods,  85, 149,  223,  224,  235,  304. 
Wollebius,  29,  79. 
Worcester,  221,  223,  226. 
Wordsworth,  10,  70. 
Wolstenholme,  Sir  John,  124. 
York,  227. 

Young,  123, 127, 128, 129. 
Zanchius,  89. 


I 


/  ,- 


J  u^- 


.Xa    /  k    ^  •'  •"         '-"  ^fc-.^--Tfe5^^-2^-^  -' 


CONGREGATIONALISM. 


/^ 


r,.,  ./     ^      .    :  ^'.  .PCM 


WHAT    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS. 


A  Church  is  an  association  of  the  friends  and  followers  of  Christ,^,  fi^  § ^'^'^ 
for  the  profession  of  Christian  faith,  and  the  performance  of  Christian  /  ^pLc/l^Ti^l 
duty.  i' 

Every  association  —  or  union  of  persons  in  a  company,  for  an  ob- 
ject—  implies   a   groundwork  of  organization,  with   principles  and  •        j^ 
laws ;  and,  therefore,  every  Church  must  have  such  a  groundwork.      ^  A-tiA it : 

The  working  out  of  these  principles  and  laws  in  shaping  and  con-  /i  >  f^<  ,  c )  i 
trolHng  the  life  of  the  organization,  constitutes  its  government ;  and, 
therefore,  every  Church  must  have  some  form  of  government. 

All  government  reduces  itself  to  three  pure  forms.  Its  power 
must  be  lodged  in  the  hands  of  some  one  supreme  sovereign,  or  in 
the  hands  of  all  who  are  included  in  the  organization,  or  (somewhere 
between  these  two  extremes,)  in  the  hands  of  a  privileged  order,  com- 
posed of  a  greater  or  smaller  number  of  principal  persons.  The  first, 
is  called  the  monarchic ;  the  second,  the  democratic ;  and  the  third, 
the  aristocratic  form  of  government. 

These  forms  may  sometimes  be  mingled,  in  a  given  case,  but  every 
government  will  naturally  be  classed  under  that  form  of  the  three,  to 
which  it  bears  the  strongest  resemblance. 

Congregationalism  is  the  democratic  form  of  Church  order  and 
government,  if  derives  its  name  from  the  prommence  wmcn  it  gives 
to  the  congregation  of  Christian  believers.  It  vests  all  ecclesiastical 
power  (under  Christ)  in  the  associated  brotherhood  of  each  local 
Church,  as  an  independent  body.  At  the  same  time  it  recognizes  a 
1  (1) 


^A. 


2  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

fraternal  and  equal  fellowship  between  these  independent  churches, 
which  invests  each  with  the  right  and  duty  of  advice  and  reproof, 
and  even  of  the  public  withdrawal  of  that  fellowship  in  case  the  course 
pursued  by  another  of  the  sisterhood  should  demand  such  action  for 
the  preservation  of  its  own  purity  and  consistency.  Herein  Congre- 
gationalism, as  a  system,  differs  from  Independency ;  which  affirms 
the  seat  of  ecclesiastical  power  to  reside  in  the  brotherhood  so  zeal- 
ously as  to  ignore  any  check,  even  of  advice,  upon  its  action.  Still, 
as  this  difference  is  only  one  of  the  exaggeration  of  a  fii*st  principle7 
"it  follows  that  every  Independent  Church  is  Congregational,  though 
few  Congregational  churches  are  Independent  — in  this  strict  and 
Brownist  sense.^ 

Its  fundamental  principle  is  the  following :  —  The  Bible  —  inter- 
preted by  sanctified  common  sense,  with  all  wise  helps  from  nature^ 
from  history,  from  all  knowledge,  and  especially  from  the  revealing 
Spirit  —  is  the  only,  and  sufficient,  and  authoritative  guide  in  all 
matters  of  Christian  practice,  as  it  is  in  all  matters  of  Christian 
faith :  so  that  whatsoever  the  Bible  teaches  —  by  precept,  example,  or 
legitimate  inference  —  is  imperative  upon  all  men,  at  all  times  ;  while 
nothing  which  it  does  not  so  teach  can  be  imperative  upon  any  man  at 
any  time. 

By  the  application  of  this  primary  truth  to  the  Bible,  it  educes  the 
following  subordinate  principles,  namely :  — 

1.   Any  company  of  people  believing  themselves  to  be,  and  pub- 
licly professing  themselves  to  be  Christians,  associated  by  voluntary 
i.  /  compact,  on  Gospel  principles,  for  Christian  work  and  worship,  is  a 

,,     '  true  Church  of  Christ. 

^I^  2.    Such  a  Church,  as  a  rule,  should  include  only  those  who  can 

',rf,.^^     conveniently  worship  and  labor  together,  and  watch  over  each  other. 
3.    Every  member  of  such  a  Church  has  equal  essential  rights, 
{\A  cXzi    powers  and  privileges,  with  every  other  (except  so  far  as  the  New 
-     Testament   and   common   sense   make   some  special   abridgment  in 
the  case  of  female  and  youthful  members)  ;  and  the  membership  to- 


1  The  Congregationalists  of  England  use  the  term  "  Independent  "  as  synonymous  with 
"  Congregational."  And  the  tenth  of  the  "  Principles  of  Church  Order  and  Discipline  "  set 
forth  by  the  "  Congregational  Union  of  England  and  Wales,"  expressly  recognizes  the  fellow- 
ship of  churches,  and  the  duty  of  "  separation  "  from  such  churches  as  "  depart  from  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ." 


I 


^JV 


\Y 


:#' 


J^  WHAT   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  8 

gether,  by  majority  vote   (though,  so  far  as  possible  to  human  imper- 
fection, there  should  never  be  any  minority  in  Congregationalism),  ^ 
have  the  right  and  duty  of  choosing  all  necessary  officers,  of  admitting,             _^  v^^ 
dismissing  and  disciphning  their  own  members,  and  of  transacting  all         ^'* 
other  appropriate  business  of  a  Christian  Church. 

4.  Every  such  Church,  —  while  it  ought  meekly  and  gratefully  to  »,  [^  ^ 
receive,  and  candidly  and  prayerfully  to  weigh  advice,  and,  if  need        ^dv^.^ 
be,  admonition,  from  its  sister  churches  —  is  yet  independent  of  any 
outward  jurisdiction  or  control,  whether  from  Popes,  Patriarchs,  Arch- 
bishops, Bishops,  or  other  persons  assuming  to  be  Christ's  officials ; 

from  General  Conventions,  Conferences,  or  Assemblies ;  from  Synods 

and  Presbyteries,  and  from  Associations,  Councils  or  other  courts  or        ,  /.,/._  (J 

convocations ;  or  from  other  churches ;  being  answerable  directly  and       j-if 

only  to  Christ  its  head.     And  every  such  Church,  whatever  may  be    ^^      /' 

the  lowliness  of  its  worldly  estate,  is  on  a  level  of  inherent  genuine-  r^*^ 

ness,  dignity  and  authority,  with  every  other  Church  on  earth. 

5.  A  fraternal  fellowship  should   be  maintained   by  these  equal 
and   independent   churches,  with   affectionate   carefulness  for   each 

other's  soundness  of  doctrine,  and  general  welfare  —  the  strong  ever        tt.^{^ 
eager  to  aid  the  weak,  as  members  of  Christ's  great  family.     And  i  J.      s    i 
though  every  such  Church  is  equal  in  essential  rights  and  powers  \^    ^^r^yu. 
with  every  other,  and,  by  its  very  constitution,  independent  of  all  ec-  .,  A'^ 

clesiastical  control,  yet  when  difficulties  arise,  or  especially  important  ,  /  '^ 

matters  claim  decision  (as  when  Pastors  are  to  be  settled  or  dismissed,  \  ) ' 

or  when  any  Church  itself  is  to  adopt  its  creed  and  commence  its 
organic  life)  it  is  not  only  competent  but  desirable  that  such  churches 
should,  in  a  fraternal  manner,  advise  each  other  —  assembling   by 
delegation  in  council  for  that  purpose  —  such  advice  being,  however,  /^'  t,V  '    '   " 
tendered  only  as  one  friend  counsels  another,  and  subject,  in  all  cases  / ^-j^,.^ 
to  the  final  decision  of  the  party  asking  for  it.     And,  if  any  Church    /jL-   / 
should  seem  to  its  fellow  churches  wilfully  and  wrongfully  to  disre-   Jy^    f^ 
gard  their  advice  —  by  adopting  an  erroneous  creed,  or  estabUshing  C'^^^Clk^  ^/ 
oyer  itself  an  unsound  or  unfaithful  pastor  —  those  churches  would    / ,^. 
not  only  have  the  right,  but  would  be  bound  in  conscience,  to  with-  '*,}," 

draw  themselves  from  all  compHcity  with,  and  responsibility  for,  such  '  ''^ 

action,  by  the  formal  revocation  of  their  existing  fellowship  with  the 
offending  Church,  until  it  should  return  to  what  seems  to  them  to  be 
the  path  of  its  duty.     Such  action  on  their  part,  however,  will  in  no        '  '^'^^  ^ 


^ 


4  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

way  aspire  to  take  the  place  of  authority  over  the  Church  to  which  it 
refers.  It  will  simply  be  a  labor  of  moral  suasion  and  self-justifica- 
tion, such  as  might  similarly  occur  among  sovereign  States,  or  be- 
tween famihes  or  individuals  in  private  life. 

6.  The  officers  which  Christ  has  designated  for  his  churches  are 
of  two  kinds  ;  —  the  first  —  indiscriminately  called,  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, Presbyters,  Bishops,  Elders  or  Overseers;  now  usually  called 
Pastors  —  who  preach  the  word  and  have  the  general  oversight 
of  the  spiritual  concerns  of  the  Church ;  the  second^  Deacons,  who 
attend  to  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  the  secular  affairs  of  the  organi- 
zation, and  aid  the  Pastor,  generally,  as  they  have  ability  and  oppor- 
tunity. These  ofiicers  are  chosen  by  the  membership  from  their  own 
number,  and  the  distinctive  idea  of  their  ofiice  is,  that  they  are  to  be 
the  servants,  —  for  spiritual  and  material  toil  —  and  not  the  ma 
of  the  Church. 

As,  by  these  principles,  all  the  power  of  the  Church  on  earth  is 
thus  held  to  reside  —  under  the  constant  oversight  of  Christ,  its  ever- 
living  and  overruling,  though  risen.  Head  —  in  its  Congregation  of 
behevers,  the  assembly  of  the  faithful,  it  is  evident  that  the  name 
Congregational,  though  neither  most  compact  nor  elegant,  is  yet 
most  apt  and  forcible,  as  the  distinguishing  epithet  of  those  churches 
which  hold  this  faith. 

Since  Congregationalism  is  thus  a  form  of  Church  order  and  gov- 
ernment, rather  than  a  system  of  doctrinal  faith,  it  is  obvious  that  — 
without  incongruity  or  impropriety  —  it  may  be  held  and  practiced 
by  those  of  different  religious  behefs.  A  Church  holding  an  Armin- 
ian,  or  Pelagian  creed  may  adopt  and  act  upon  the  principle  that  all 
Ecclesiastical  power  is  resident  in  the  brotherhood,  with  as  much  pro- 
priety as  a  Church  holding  the  Five  Points  of  Calvinism ;  those  who 
limit  Baptism  to  immersion,  with  as  much  success  as  those  who 
hold  that  the  application  of  water,  in  any  form,  in  the  name  of  the 
Trinity,  is  Baptism.  And,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  though  the  name 
"  Congregationalists "  is  popularly  associated,  as  a  denominational 
epithet,  mainly  with  those  who  hold  the  Congregational  form  of 
Church  government  in  connection  with  a  religious  faith  represented, 
for  substance  of  doctrine,  by  the  Catechism  of  the  Westminster  As- 


WHAT   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  5 

sembly,  many  other,  bodies  of  professing  Christians  are  also  Congre- 
"gational  in  their  Church  government.  The  great  Baptist  Denom- 
ination—  with  some  leanings  toward  Independency,  properly  so 
called  —  is  yet  purely  Congregational  in  its  principles  of  Church 
order  and  government.  The  same,  for  substance,  is  true  also  of 
the  Unitarian,  Universalist,  and  "  Christian  "  denominations,  and  of 
the  Wesleyan,  and  Independent,  or  Congregational  Methodists. 

The  number  of  churches  in  this  country  which  are  essentially 
Congregational  in  their  form  of  government,  may  be  approximately 
estimated,  as  follows ;  — 

Churches. 

Orthodox  Congregationalists,^        .        .        .         .  2,676 

Regular  Baptists,^ 12,730 

Other  Baptists,^ 5,575 

Christians,* 1,600 

Wesleyan  Methodists,^ ......  600 

Other  Congregational  Methodists,^      ...  200 

Unitarians,' 246 

Universalists,^ 1,128 

24,755 

Add  now  to  these,  2,591  Congregational  Orthodox  churches  in 
England  and  her  colonies,®  with  2,000  "  Particular,"  ^^  and  some  120 
"  General"  Baptist  churches  on  the  same  field,  and  we  have — leaving 
out  of  the  account  the  large  number  of  essentially  Congregational 
Methodists  in  the  mother  country,  —  a  grand  total  among  those  who 
speak  the  English  tongue,  of  some  29,466  churches  whose  govern- 
ment is  essentially  Congregational,  as  opposed  to  the  aristocratic  and 
monarchic  forms  of  Church  government ! 

The  whole  number  of  Christian  churches  reported  in  the  United 
States  by  the  last  census,  was  38,183.  Add  twenty  per  cent,  for 
increase,  and  we  have  45,819  as  the  approximate  present  number. 
Comparing  with  this  total  the  number  of  churches  Congregationally 


1  Congregational  Quarterly,  J&n.lSQO.  p.  139.        7  Cong.  Q«ar.  July,  1859.    p.  297. 

2  Cong.  Quar.,  Oct.  1859.    p.  386.  8  Ibid. 

3  Cong.  Quar.,  April,  1860.  p.  222 ;  and  American  Christian  Record,    p.  46. 

4  Cong.  Quar.,  July,  1860.     p.  305.  9  EngUsh  "  Year  Book,"  1860. 

6  Cong.    Quar.  April,  1860.    p.  222.  10  Appleton's  Cyclopedia,  Art.  "  Baptist." 

6  Ibid. 


6  CONGREGATIONAXISM. 

governed  on  this  territoiy  (24,755  less  657,  outside  the  limits  of 
the  United  States),  and  we  have,  in  round  numbers,  a  proportion  of 
f|ths,  in  favor  of  Congregationalists  as  compared  with  all  others; 
showing  that,  instead  of  being,  as  has  often  been  alleged,  a  merely 
Provincial,  and  peculiarly  New  England  idea,  this  system  of  Congre- 
gational government  for  Christian  churches,  is  substantially  held  and 
practiced  by  more  than  one  half  of  the  entire  professing  Christianity 
of  the  land ! 

Or,  if  a  comparison  be  desired  that  shall  be  confined  to  churches 
commonly  reputed  to  be  "Evangelical"  in  their  faith;  —  throwing 
out  of  the  estimated  total  of  45,819,  ten  per  cent,  for  Non  Evangelical 
churches  (which  would  seem  to  be  about  what  the  census  would  in- 
dicate as  a  fair  proportion  for  them),  we  have  left  an  "  Evange 
total  of  over  41,000  churches.  Throwing  out,  on  the  other  hand,  fro 
the  Congregational  total,  the  2,974  Unitarian,  Universalist,  and  "  Chri; 
tian  "  churches,  we  have  left  a  total  of  "Evangelical"  churches  Con 
gregationally  governed,  of  21,124  ;  thus  giving  us  a  Congregational 
proportion  of  about  f|sts  of  the  entire  "EvangeHcal"  Christian- 
ity of  the  nation  —  still  more  than  one  half!  ^ 

As  a  distinctive  foi-m  of  Church  order  it  is  clear,  therefore,  that 
Congregationahsm  leads  all  others  in  this  country  in  the  number  of 
its  adherents,  while  it  has  nearly  three  times  as  many  Evangelical 
churches,  scattered  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  as  are 
included  in  aU  those  Bodies  that  are  Presbyterian  in  name  and  form. 

Facts  show  also  that  the  Congregational  form  of  Church  order  has 
been  found  equally  practicable  and  beneficial  in  all  parts  of  the  land. 
The  great  majority  of  the  Congregational  churches  is  found  out  of 
New  England.    From  the  imperfect  statistics  in  our  possession,  we  are 

1  The  relative  strength  of  several  of  the  prominent  Religious  Bodies  in  this  country  may  be 
hinted  at  as  follows :  — 

Roman  Catholics, 2,834  Churches  and  Chapels. 

Protestant  Episcopalians, 2,110  Parishes. 

Methodist  Episcopalians, 9,423  Ministers. 


Presbyterians,  (all  kinds), 7,964  Chu: 

Reformed  Dutch, 409 

Evangelical  Lutherans, 2,048 

German  Reformed, 1,013 

Orthodox  Congregationalists,         ....  2,676 

Regular  Baptists, 12,730 

Other  Baptists, 5,575 

Congregational  Methodists, 800 


ches. 


WHAT    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  7 

able  to  state  that  there  are  756  churches  Congregationally  governed 
in  Alabama;  in  Arkansas,  269  ;  in  California,  54;  in  Delaware,  2; 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  7  ;  in  Florida,  107 ;  in  Georgia,  995  ;  in 
Illinois,  902 ;  in  Indiana,  733 ;  in  Indian  Territory,  45 ;  in  Iowa, 
388;  in  Kansas,  44;  in  Kentucky,  852;  in  Louisiana,  189;  in 
Maryland,  38 ;  in  Michigan,  344 ;  in  Minnesota,  97 ;  in  Mississippi, 
577;  in  Missouri,  698;  in  Nebraska,  17;  in  New  Jersey,  120;  in 
New  York,  1,239  ;  in  North  Carolina,  649 ;  in  Ohio,  829 ;  in  Ore- 
gon, 41 ;  in  Pennsylvania,  460 ;  in  South  CaroHna,  463  ;  in  Tennes- 
see, 644;  in  Texas,  387;  in  Virginia,  716;  in  Wisconsin,  354. 

If  we  arrange  these  under  the  grand  divisions  of  the  Union,  we 
shall  get  the  following  results ;  — 

Congregational  Churches. 

New  England, 2,977 

Middle  States, .  1,821 

Southern  States, 4,884 

Western  States, 6,311 

Or,  taking  the  account  by  States,  under  each  division  (counting  three 
territories  with  the  eleven  Western  States)  we  have  local  averages  of 
churches  Congregationally  governed,  as  follows :  — 

In  each  New  England  State,      .         .         .         .         .496 

«         Middle  State, 455 

"         Southern  State, 488 

"        Western  State, 450 

This  shows  a  remarkable  evenness  of  distribution,  and  demonstrates 
that,  as  a  system,  CongregationaHsm  has  been  found  to  be  equally 
adapted  to  every  latitude  and  phase  of  society  among  us.  More  com- 
plete and  later  returns  would  considerably  increase  these  totals. 


CHAPTER   II. 

WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS. 

Whence  did  this  large  number  of  Christian  believers  get  their 
faith  in  this  democratic  form  of  Church  government ;  as  distinguished 
from  the  aristocracy  of  Presbyterianism,  and  the  monarchy^  the 
Episcopal,  Patriarchal  or  Papal  hierarchy  ? 

As  a  matter  of  principle,  they  take  it  directly  from  the  Bible,  in- 
terpreted by  common  sense.  As  a  matter  of  history,  they  have  re- 
ceived it  from  a  succession  of  faithful  men  who  gained  it  from  the 
Bible,  illustrated  and  enforced  by  the  Providence  of  its  benignant 
Author ;  and  who  proved  it  "  in  much  patience,  in  afflictions,  in  neces- 
sities, in  distresses,  in  stripes,  in  imprisonments,  in  tumults,  in  labors, 
in  watchings,  in  fastings ;  by  pureness,  by  knowledge,  by  long  suffer- 
ing, by  kindness,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  love  unfeigned,  by  the  word 
of  truth,  by  the  power  of  God,  by  the  armor  of  righteousness  on  the 
right  hand,  and  on  the  left." 

A  rapid  glance  over  those  portions  of  the  New  Testament  which 
convey  to  us  the  will  of  Christ  concerning  his  churches  —  in  direct 
precept,  or  in  the  conduct  of  those  who  acted  under  Inspiration  from 
him  —  will  show  us  how  naturally  and  inevitably  the  Congregational 
system  of  Church  order  and  government  grew  therefrom,  and  how 
necessarily  it  must  ever  entrench  itself  in  the  hearts  of  those  who 
look  to  the  Bible  simply  for  their  faith. 

The  Church  dates  from  days  described  in  the  book  of  Genesis. 
But  the  Christian  Church  had  its  origin  in  the  teachings  and  labors 
of  Jesus.  The  Gospels  contain  no  record  of  any  prescribed  organic 
plan  for  its  life,  yet  there  were  hints  dropped  from  the  lips  of  our 
Saviour  which  seem  to  have  been  intended  to  prepare  the  minds  of 
the  disciples  for  that  further  revelation  of  his  will,  which  was  subse- 
quently to  be  made  in  the  preaching  and  practice  of  his  apostles. 
(8) 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  9 

Section  1.     The  Intimations  of  Christ  in  regard  to  Church  Gov- 
ernment. 

Without  taking  space  here  to  gather  up  all  the  indirect  sugges- 
tions and  hints  which  the  Gospels  contain  on  this  subject,  we  turn,  at 
once,  to  three  important  passages  in  the  record  of  Matthew. 

In  the  18th  chapter,  (vv.  15-17,)  Christ  directs  that  an  offence 
which  cannot  be  privately  settled,  be  told  to  the  Church,  and  "  if  he 
neglect  to  hear  the  Church,  ltxxl?]<yia — ekklesia,  'the  assembled,'  'the 
congregation  of  believers,']  ^  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  an  heathen  man 
and  a  publican ; "  thus  suggesting  the  principle  that,  so  far  as  internal 
discipline  is  concerned,  the  decision  of  any  associated  local  body  of 
believers  should  be  final  to  all  under  its  jurisdiction. 

So,  in  the  20th  chapter,  (yv.  20-28,)  when  the  mother  of  James 
and  John  was  an  applicant,  on  behalf  of  her  sons,  for  some  special 
place  of  honor  in  the  new  "  kingdom,"  and  the  application  had  dis- 
turbed the  other  ten,  as  if  the  best  places  in  that  kingdom  were  in 
danger  of  being  surreptitiously  taken,  Christ,  in  rebuke  and  explana- 
tion, "  called  them  unto  him,  and  said :  Ye  know  that  the  princes  of 
the  Gentiles  exercise  dominion  over  them,  and  they  that  are  great, 
exercise  authority  upon  them.  But  it  shall  not  be  so  among  you : 
but  whosoever  will  be  great  among  you,  let  him  be  your  minister 
[bimovog — diahonos,  'one  dusty  from  running,'  'a  runner  or  waiter']  ; 
And  whosoever  will  be  chief  among  you,  let  him  be  your  servant 
\8ovlog  —  doulos,  'bondman,'  'humblest  servant']  ;  even  as  the  Son  of 
man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,"  etc.  So,  again, 
in  the  23d  chapter,  (vv.  8-11,)  Christ  instructed  his  disciples;  "Be 
not  ye  called  Rabbi ;  for  one  is  your  Master,  even  Christ,  and  all  ye 
are  brethren.  And  call  no  man  your  father  [spiritual  superior]  upon 
the  earth ;  for  one  is  your  Father,  which  is  in  heaven.  Neither  be 
ye  called  masters,  [^}iadr]yi]raL  —  kathegetai,  'leaders  of  the  con- 
science '] ;   for  one  is  your  Master,  even  Christ.     But  he  that  is 


1  "  Tri  £KK\riffia,  by  what  follows,  certainly  not '  the  Jewish  Synagogue '  (for  how  could  vv.  18- 
20  be  said  in  any  sense  of  if.)  but  '  the  Congregation  '  of  Christians  ;  t.  e.  in  early  times,  such 
as  in  Acts  iv  :  32,  the  one  congregation,  —  in  after  times,  that  congregation  of  which  thou  and 
he  are  members.  That  it  cannot  mean  the  Church  as  represented  by  her  rulers,  appears  by  vv. 
19,  20,  —  where  any  collection  of  believers  is  gifted  with  the  power  of  deciding  in  such  caaes. 
Nothing  can  be  further  from  the  spirit  of  our  Lord's  command  than  proceedings  in  what  are 
Oddly  enough  called  '  Ecclesiastical '  Courts."  —  Alford.   Grgek  Test,  and  Com.  Matt,  xviii :  17. 


10  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

greatest  [really  greatest]  among  you  shall  be  your  servant,"  [Staxo- 
vog'].  These  passages  seem  necessarily  to  involve,  and  prepare  the 
way  for,  the  doctrine  of  the  inherent  essential  equahty  in  rank  of  all 
true  believers  on  earth,  and  to  require  their  subjection  only  to  God  as 
Father,  and  to  Christ  as  Teacher  and  Head.^  And,  since  every 
organic  body  must  have  some  government,  these  precepts  —  so  far  as 
they  were  left  unmodified  to  mold  the  future  —  appear  to  have  been 
intended  to  control  all  ideas  of  government  which  might  be  subse- 
quently proposed  for  the  external  development  of  the  Christian 
Church,  and  oblige  it,  under  whatever  form,  to  recognize  this  essen- 
tial equality  among  its  entire  membership,  and  provide  for  a  ministry 
of  service  and  not  of  rule. 

We  find  no  record  of  any  counter  teaching  from  our  Saviour's 
lips.  The  only  passage  which  requires  notice,  as  being  even  seem- 
ingly of  different  character,  is  that  in  the  16th  of  Matthew,  (w.  18- 
19,)  where  Christ,  in  response  to  Peter's  frank  and  earnest  avowal  of 
faith  in  his  Messiahship,  says:  "thou  art  Peter  [^Uhgog — Petros^ 
and  upon  this  rock  [TZetQa  — petra]  I  will  build  my  Church ;  and  the 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it  And  I  will  give  unto  thee 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven :  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind 
on  earth,  shall  be  bound  in  heaven ;  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose 
on  earth,  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."  This  might,  at  first  glance,  look 
like  the  conferring  of  some  special  function  and  honor  upon  Peter, 
either  as  an  individual,  or  as  the  representative  of  a  class.  Accord- 
ingly we  find  that  the  Romish  Church  has,  with  short  logic,  reasoned 
from  this  passage  thus :  ^  *  Peter  was  the  rock  on  which  the  Church 
was  built ;  but  a  foundation  rock  must  necessarily  have  existence  at 
least  as  long  as  its  superstructure,  and  the  promise  must  therefore 
have  been  made  to  Peter  in  some  sense  allowing  of  succession,  and  so 
of  permanence  ;  but  the  Bishop  of  Rome  is  the  legitimate  successor 
of  Peter ;  therefore  this  promise  of  Christ  was  made  to  the  Bishop  of 
Rome,  who,  through  all  time,  was  thus  constituted  the  earthly  head 


1  *'  We  have  God,  in  his  Trinity,  here  declared  to  us  as  the  only  Father,  Master,  and  Teacher 
of  Christians;  their  narfijj,  KuOnyriTfii  (=,)6nyds  TvfXwv,  Rom.  ii :  19),  and  6i6daKaXoi —the 
only  one  in  all  these  relations,  on  whom  they  can  rest  or  depend.  They  are  all  brethren  :  all 
substantially  equal  —  none  by  office  or  precedence  nearer  to  God  than  another ;  none  standing 
between  his  brother  and  God."'  —  Alford.  Com.  Matt,  xxiii:  8-10. 

a  See  Maldonatus  in  Evangelia,  in  loco  ;  also  Chr.  Wordsworth's  "  Four  Gospels,"  in  loco. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   I 

of  the  Christian  Church  —  having  the  power  of  (the 
to,  or  excluding  from  heaven. 

This  was  not  so  understood,  however,  bj  the  Apostles ;  for,  on  on 
occasion,^  the  counsel  of  James  was  followed  in  preference  to  the 
of  Peter,  and  Paul  once  "  withstood  him  to  the  face,  because  he  wg 
to  be  blamed."'*   Nor  did  the  early  Christian  Fathers  so  understand  it 

It  is  obvious  that  Christ,  when  he  said  "  on  this  rock  will  I  buil 
my  Church,"  either  alluded  to  the  declaration  of  faith  which  Pete 
had  just  made,  and  meant  to  say  —  "  upon  the  rock  of  this  great  truth. 
I  will  build  my  Church  ;  "  or  that  he  turned  suddenly  from  Peter  to 
himself,  and  meant  to  say  — "  upon  this  rock  (of  myself,  as  the  Mes- 
siah,) I  will  build  my  Church ; "  or  that  he  referred  directly  to  Peter, 
and  meant,  in  some  sense,  to  say  — "  upon  you,  Peter,  I  will  build 
my  Church."  The  latter  is  unquestionably  the  most  natural,  and 
therefore  the  most  probable  sense.  Nor  does  it  require  the  adoption 
of  the  Romish  hypothesis  —  in  itself  unnatural  and  absurd,  and  un- 
supported by  any  shred  of  other  Scripture.  We  simply  need  to  un- 
derstand here  such  a  slight  play  upon  words  as  is  very  common  in 
the  sacred  writers,*  and  we  get  a  sound  and  strong  and  sufficient 
sense,  without  any  suggestion  of  Peter's  lordship  over  God's  heritage 
either  for  himself,  his  class,  or  their  successors.  "  Thou  art  Peter 
[Syriac,  '  Cephas,'  a  rock,  —  so  named  by  Christ  himself  (John  i : 
42),  because  of  divine  insight  into  his  character]  —  and  upon  this  rock 
(this  solid  fitness  —  in  essential  boldness  and  firmness  of  character  — 
for  service  in  the  difficult  work  of  winning  men  to  the  Gospel),  1  will 
build  my  Church ;  that  is,  thy  labors  shall  become  a  foundation  stone 


1  Acts  XV :  7-30. 

2  Gal.  ii :  11. 

3  We  find  among  them,  indeed,  the  germs  of  all  subsequent  criticism  upon  the  subject. 
Some  few  of  them  regarded  the  TrtTpa  of  the  Church  as  being  Peter ;  more  as  the  faith  of  Peter  ; 
others  understood  the  reference  to  be  to  Christ.  Augustine  changed  his  view  from  the  former 
to  the  latter,  as  he  says,  (Retrac.  1:  21).  Jerome  says,  (Comment  on  Matt,  vii :  25.  —  Ed. 
Basle.  A.  D.  1536,  Vol  ix.  p.  24),  the  rock  is  "  Dom.  Noster,  Jesus  Christus.'^  Ambrose  says,  (in 
Luc.  ix.  20),  "  Petraest  Ciiristus:  etiam  discipulo  suo  hujus  vocabuli  gratiam  non  negavit  utipse 
sit  Petrus,  quod  de  Petra  habeat  soliditatem  constantiae,  fidei  firmitatem."  Augustine  ( De  pec- 
cat,  mer.  Lib.  ii.  C.  20.  Ed.  Antwerp.  A  D.  1700),  says  Paul  "  tanti  Apostolatus  meruit  principa- 
tum.''^  So  Ambrose  declares  (De  Spir.  Sane,  ii :  13),  "  nee  Paulus  inferior  Petro."  Even  Gregory 
VII.  (Hildebrand)  admitted  the  doctrine  taught  last  by  Augustine,  for  when  he  deposed  Henry 
IV.,  he  sent  a  crown  to  Rudolphus  with  the  inscription,  "  Petra  (Christ)  dedit  Petro,  Petrus 
diadema  Rodolpho."  —  (Vide  Baronius,  Vol.  xi.  p.  704.) 

4  See  Matt,  v :  19 ;  xx :  16,  etc. 


12  CONGREGATIONALISM.  \ 

on  which  it  shall  rise.^  This  interpretation  is  borne  out  by  the  fact  ^ 
that  Peter  was  the  first  to  preach  Christ  to  both  Jews  *  and  Gentiles.* 
Olshausen  seems  to  lean  towards  the  idea  that  Peter's  enunciated 
truth  was  the  "  rock,"  jet  he  says,^  "  the  faith  itself,  and  his  confession 
of  it,  must  not  he  regarded  as  apart  from  Peter  himself  personally  ;  it  is 
identified  with  him  —  not  with  the  old  Simon,  but  with  the  new  Pe- 
ter." And  as  to  "  the  power  of  the  keys,"  it  is  enough  to  suggest 
that,  so  far  as  the  natural  idea  of  opening  which  attaches  to  a  key  is 
modified  by  Biblical  use,  it  gets  mainly  the  sense  of  the  power  of  su- 
perintendence with  reference  to  the  bestowal  of  certain  privileges,® 
and  its  simple  use  would  seem  to  be  to  promise  to  Peter  that  he  shall 
be  made  the  instrument  for  opening  the  door  of  the  Church  to  the 
world;  as  he  was  made  after  the  ascension.  And  if  any  idea  of  vest- 
ing power  over  the  Church  in  Peter,  as  an  individual,  or  as  repre- 
senting the  Apostles,  be  insisted  on  in  connection  with  this  verse ;  by 
turning  over  to  the  18th  chapter  (v.  18),  it  will  become  clear  that 
the  same  power  of  binding  and  loosing  was  there  conferred  —  and  in 
the  same  language  —  upon  the  whole  body  of  the  disciples ;  the  en- 
tire Church,  as  then  existing.  So  that  this  passage,  in  no  sense,  con- 
tradicts or  modifies  those  teachings  of  fraternal  equality  among  his 
followers,  which  Christ  had  before  solemnly  promulged. 

So  far,  then,  as  the  Gospels  are  concerned,  it  appears  to  be  settled 
that  as  Christ  was  the  visible  and  only  head  of  his  Church  so  long  as 
he  remained  on  earth,  and  besides  him  there  was  no  superiority  and 


1  "  The  name  Ilsr/jo? AesnoX^s  t\ie  personal  position  of  this  apostle  in  the  building  of 

the  Church  of  Christ.  He  was  the  first  of  those  foundation  stones  (Eph.  ii :  22  ;  Rev.  xxi :  14) 
on  which  the  living  temple  of  God  was  built :  this  building  itself,  beginning  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost by  the  laying  of  three  thousand  living  stones  on  this  very  foundation.  That  this  is  the 
simple  and  only  interpretation  of  the  words  of  our  Lord,  the  whole  usage  of  the  New  Testament 
shows  :  in  which  not  doctrines,  nor  confessions,  but  7nen,  are  uniformly  the  pillars  and  stones 
of  the  spiritual  building.  See  1  Pet.  ii:  4-6;  1  Tim.  iii:  15;  Gal.  ii:  9;  Eph.  ii:  20;  Rev. 
m  :  12.''  — Alford.  Coin.  Matt,  xvi:  18. 

2  "  Another  personal  promise  to  Peter,  remarkably  fulfilled  in  his  being  the  first  to  admit  both 
Jetvs  and  Gentiles  into  the  Church ;  thus  using  the  power  of  the  keys  to  open  the  door  of  saiva^ 
tion.'"  —  Alford.  Com.  Matt,  xvi:  19. 

3  Acts  ii :  14. 

4  Acts  X :  34. 

5  Vol.  1,  p.  550.    Kendrick's  revision. 

6  Tertullian  (de  jejuniis  adv.  Psych,  c.  15.)  sa-^s.  — alluding  to  Paul's  permission  (1  Cor. 
X :  25),  to  eat  "  whatsoever  is  sold  in  the  shambles,"  —  "  claves  macelli  tibi  tradidit ;  "  — '  Paul 
has  given  to  you  the  keys  of  the  meat-market'— meaning  free  authority  to  buy  and  eat  what- 
ever is  sold  there. 


;  WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  13 

no  ruling,  but  all  were  brethren,  equal  in  rights,  however  unequal  in 
their  performance  of  service,  or  their  earning  of  honor ;  so  it  was  his 
idea  and  intention  in  regard  to  the  practical  development  of  the 
Christian  Church  through  all  the  ages,  that  he  should  still  remain, 
though  ascended,  its  invisible  yet  real  and  only  head ;  and  that  its 
membership  should  permanently  stand  on  the  same  broad  platform  of 
essential  equahty. 

Section  2.     The  Testimony  of  the  Apostles  in  regard  to  Churchy 
Government. 

Passing  on  now  to  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  we  shall  see  that  they 
bear  the  most  decided  testimony  that  this  teaching  of  Christ  was  re- 
ceived, and  acted  upon,  by  his  followers,  in  the  sense  which  we  have 
put  upon  it.  The  Christian  Church  of  the  first  century  —  so  far  as 
the  fifth  book  of  the  New  Testament  conveys  its  history  —  was  gov- 
erned, not  by  Peter,  or  by  any  other  Apostle,  as  in  Christ's  stead ; 
nor  by  all  the  Apostles,  in  their  own  right,  or  by  any  delegation  of 
power  from  Christ ;  but  by  itself,  under  Christ  as  its  great  head ;  by 
its  entire  membership  —  debating,  deciding,  doing.^ 

This  will  be  made  evident  by  the  examination  of  those  passages 
which  contain  a  record  of  Church  action.     In  the  appointment  of 

1  "  The  essence  of  the  Christian  community  rested  on  this :  that  no  one  individual  should  be 
the  chosen,  preeminent  organ  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  the  guidance  of  the  whole  ;  but  all  were  to 
cooperate,  each  at  his  particular  position,  and  with  the  gifts  bestowed  on  him,  one  supplying 
what  might  be  wanted  by  another,  for  the  advancement  of  the  Christian  life  and  the  common 
end.''  —  Neander,  Church  History.    Torrey's  Translation.   Vol.  1,  p.  181. 

"  The  Jewish  and  later  Catholic  antithesis  of  clergy  and  laity  has  no  place  in  the  apostolic 
age.  The  ministers,  on  the  one  part,  are  as  sinful  and  dependent  on  redeeming  grace  as  th« 
members  of  the  congregations ;  and  the  members,  on  the  other,  share  equally  with  the  minis- 
ters in  the  blessings  of  the  gospel,  enjoy  equal  freedom  of  access  to  the  throne  of  grace,  and  are 
called  to  the  same  direct  communion  with  Christ,  the  head  of  tne  whole  body."  —  Sckaff.  HiS' 
tory  of  the  Christian  Church,  A.  D.  1-311 ;  p.  131. 

"  The  assembled  people,  therefore,  elected  their  own  rulers  and  teachers,  or  by  their  free  con- 
sent received  such  as  were  nominated  to  them.  They  also,  by  their  suffrages,  rejected  or  con- 
firmed the  laws  that  were  proposed  by  their  rulers,  in  their  assemblies  ;  they  excluded  profligate 
and  lapsed  brethren,  and  restored  them ;  they  decided  the  controversies  and  disputes  that 
arose  ;  they  heard  and  determined  the  cause  of  presbyters  and  deacons  ;  in  a  word,  the  people 
did  everything   that   is  proper  for  those  in  whom  the  supreme  power  of  the  community  is 

■jested Among  all  the  members  of  the  Church,  of  whatever  class  or  condition,  there  waa 

the  most  perfect  equality  ;  which  they  manifested  by  their  love  feasts,  by  the  use  of  the  appel- 
lations, brethren  and  sisters,  and  in  other  ways."  — MwrrfocAr's  Mosheim,  Vol.  1,  pp.  68,  69. 

"  All  believers  in  Christ  were  called  brethren  and  sisters,  and  were  such  in  feeling  and  real- 
ity.''— Guericke's  Alanual.  Shedd's  Trans,  p.  128. 


14  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

some  one  in  place  of  Judas,^  it  appears  that  an  hundred  and  twenty- 
Church  members  were  present,  and  Peter,  after  referring  to  the  fate 
of  the  apostate,  expressed  his  conviction  of  the  necessity  that  some 
one  who  was  competent,  in  virtue  of  a  sufficient  attendance  on  Christ's 
teachings,  should  [jsvsadai  —  genesthai,  '  be  constituted,*  or  '  ap- 
pointed ']  to  be  an  official  witness,  with  the  eleven,  of  his  "  resurrec- 
tion." And  they  \Jatiiaav  dvo  —  estesan  duo,  *  stood  forward,'  or 
*  selected  to  stand  forward,']  two ;  and  then,  recognizing  Christ,  who 
had  chosen  all  of  the  eleven,  to  be  still  their  Master  and  Head,  and 
entitled  to  choose  now  as  before,^  they  prayed  him  to  exercise  his 
choice  in  the  lot  by  "  the  whole  disposing  thereof,"  ^  and  then  *  gave 
forth  their  lots,'  and  the  lot  fell  upon  Matthias,  who  was  thenceforth 
numbered  with  the  eleven  Apostles. 

Mosheim  ^  goes,  indeed,  so  far  as  to  urge  that  the  translation  of  this 
phrase  "gave  forth  their  lots,"  [^edoDKav  vlrioovg  —  edbkan  klerous'] 
should  be  *  they  cast  their  votes '  —  making  the  passage  teach  that 
the  suffrage  of  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  was  exercised  not  merely 
—  as  it  confessedly  was  —  in  the  selection  of  the  two,  but  also  in 
the  subsequent  election  of  the  one.  And  even  Chrysostom  ^  says :  — 
"  Peter  did  everything  here  with  the  common  consent ;  nothing,  by 
his  own  will  and  authority.  He  left  the  judgment  to  the  multi- 
tude, to  secure  their  respect  to  the  elected,  and  to  free  himself  from 
every  invidious  reflection.  He  did  not  himself  appoint  the  two,  it 
was  the  act  of  all." 

Perhaps  the  real  sense  of  the  passage  may  be  cleared  by  consid- 
ering the  nature  of  their  subsequent  action,  which  it  is  natural  to 
assume  —  in  the  absence  of  any  evidence  to  the  contrary  —  would  be 
in  harmony  with  what  was  then  done. 

We  find,  then,®  that  when  it  became  needful  to  appoint  deacons  to 


1  Acts  i :  15-26. 

2  "  If  any  element  in  the  idea  of  an  apostle  is  clear  and  well  established,  it  is  that  of  his  hay- 
ing been  chosen  by  the  Lord  himself.  (See  Luke  Ti :  13 ;  John  vi :  70  ;  xiii :  18 ;  xv :  16,  19 ;  Acts 
i :  2).  Indeed  the  assembly  is  so  firmly  convinced  of  this  prerogative  of  the  Lord  in  the  ap- 
pointment of  an  apostle,  that  they  considered  the  choice  of  the  Lord  to  have  been  made  already 
(ver.  24.) ;  so  that  the  lot  is  only  the  manifestation  of  this  act  of  the  Lord,  which,  though  se- 
cret to  them,  was  already  concluded.''^  —  Baumgarten's  Apostol.  Hist.  Clark's  ed.  Vol.  1,  p.  38. 

3  Proverbs  xvi :  33. 

4  Comment,  de  Rebus  Christ,  pp.  78-80. 
6  Horn.  ad.  Act.  I,  p.  25. 

0  Acts  vi:  1-6. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  15 

aid  the  apostles  in  "  serving  tables,"  the  twelve  assembled  "  the  multi- 
tude of  the  disciples,"  and,  having  explained  the  existing  necessity, 
said ;  "  Brethren,  look  ye  out  among  you  [^tmant'ivaaOe — episkepsas- 
the]  seven  men  of  honest  report,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  wis- 
dom, whom  we  may  appoint  \_>^cixaatiiao^EV  —  katastesomen, '  set  in 
place,'  '  induct  to  office,']  over  this  business.  And  the  saying  pleased 
the  multitude  {jtavzo^  zov  nh'fiovg  —  pantos  tou  plethous,  '  the  all 
of  the  fulness  of  people,']  and  they  chose  [^k^eXe^avto  —  exelexanto, 
*  selected  out,']  Stephen,  etc.,  etc.,  whom  they  set  before  the  apostles ;" 
—  for  what  purpose  appears  from  the  record  of  what  followed. 
"  And  when  they  [the  apostles]  had  prayed,  they  laid  their  hands  on 
them "  [the  deacons]  ;  not  for  the  purpose  of  electing  them,  but  by 
w^ay  of  solemnly  inducting  them  into  the  office  to  which  they  had 
been  already  chosen  by  the  free  suffrage  of  all. 

In  like  manner  there  is  collateral  evidence  that  the  whole  member- 
ship acted  in  the  choice  of  the  messengers  or  delegates,  of  the 
churches,  as  Paul  says  ^  in  honor  of  Titus,  that  it  was  not  only  true 
that  his  praise  was  in  the  gospel  throughout  all  the  churches,  but  that 
he  had  also  been  "  chosen  [y^^iQOTovrfi&ig  —  cheirotonetheis, '  appointed 
by  vote  of  the  outstretched  hand,']  of  the  churches  to  travel "  with 
himself. 

So  the  whole  Church  appear  to  have  voted  in  the  choice  of  their 
presbyters  or  pastors.  The  authorized  English  version  indeed  says 
of  Paul  and  Barnabas :  ^  "  and  when  they  had  ordained  them  elders 
in  every  Church,  and  prayed,  with  fasting,  they  commended  them  to 
the  Lord,  etc.,"  leaving  the  impression  that  the  elders,  or  presbyters,  • 
or  pastors,  were  put  over  the  churches  by  Paul  and  Barnabas,  in 
right  of  their  apostleship;  and  without  any  intimation  that  those 
churches  were  even  so  much  as  consulted  in  the  matter.  But  what- 
ever the  passage  really  does  mean,  it  is  evident  that  it  does  not  mean 
this.  Nothing  is  said  about  "  ordination  "  in  the  Greek.  The  word 
upon  which  the  real  force  of  the  text  hinges  is  x^iQorovriaa'mg  — 
cheirotonesantes,  which  limits  and  defines  the  action  here  described 
with  reference  to  the  elders.  That  word  is  derived  from  two  [^X^iq  — 
cheir,  and  zfiVco  —  teino,']  which  signify  to  *  stretch  out,'  or  *  lift  up 
the  hand,'  and  it  is  conceded  by  all  that  its  original  use  was  to  de- 

1  2  Cor.  viii :  19.  2  Acts  xiv :  23. 


16  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

scribe  the  method  of  voting  by  '  a  show  of  hands/  in  the  election  of 
magistrates  by  the  public  assemblies  of  Athens,  and  hence  its  primary 
sense  is,  to  choose  hy  hand-vote}  It  is  conceded  also  that  it  subse- 
quently took  on  the  secondary  sense  of  electing  or  appointing  in  any 
manner?  The  question  which  must  determine  its  meaning  here,  is 
then  in  which  of  these  senses  it  was  used  by  the  author  of  the  Acts ; 
and,  in  regard  to  this,  commentators  have  been  divided.  Many,  most 
respectable  in  philological  attainments,  and  eminent  for  varied  learn- 
ing, have  taught  that  the  word  was  here  employed  in  its  primary 
sense.^  Others  scarcely  less  eminent,  have  been  equally  positive  that 
it  is  used  in  a  secondary  sense,  and  some  would  even  justify  our  ver- 
sion in  translating  it  by  the  word  '  ordain.'  *  In  tliis  contrariety  of 
opinion,  it  seems  clear  that  no  certainty  can  be  arrived  at  from  the 
study  of  the  etymology  of  the  word  alone,  and  that  the  only  way  of 
gaining  a  reasonable  security  of  its  intention  here  is  to  compare  its 
possible  meanings  with  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  settle  upon 
that  which  best  maintains  the  consistency  of  the  Sacred  Record.  •  If 
we  read  it  "  ordained  them  elders  in  every  Church,"  we  strain  the 
sense  of  the  word  beyond  any  secondary  meaning  which  was  natural 
to  that  time;  we  assume,  without  proof,  the  previous  existence  of 
elders  (which  were  now  merely  ordained)  in  those  churches ;  we 
render  tautological  the  account  (of  seeming  public  consecration  by 


1  See  Liddell  and  Scott,  Robinson,  and  Suicer ;  also  Smith's  "  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman 
Antiquities,"  art.  Cheirotonia,  p.  271 ;  also  Owen's  "  True  Nature  of  a  Gospel  Church,"  works. 
Vol.  xvi,  p.  62,  where  numerous  citations  are  given  from  Demosthenes,  Thucydides,  Aristopha- 
nes, etc.,  showing  this  use  ;  also  Colman's  "  Primitive  Church,"  pp.  59-63. 

2  See  quotations  from  Philo,  Lucian  and  Maximus  Tyrius,  in  Davidson's  "  Eccles.  Pol.  of 
New  Test."  pp.  201-2. 

3  Vox  orta  ex  more  Graecomm,  qui  porrectis  manibus  sufEragia  ferebant.    Beza.  in  loco. 
"  Signiflcat  hos  suffragiis  delectos  fuisse."     Erasmus,  in  loco. 

"  Cum  suffragiis,  sive  per  suffragia,  creassent,"  is  cited  by  Poole,  as  the  formula  in  which 
agree  Pisoator,  and  the  versions  Flacii  Illyrici,  Tigurina,  Pagnini  and  Piscatoris.  —  Poole.  Syn- 
opsis Crit.  in  loco. 

*  See  Luther,  Brennius,  Hammond,  etc.,  in  loco. 

A  further  idea  is  suggested  by  some  in  connection  with  this  word,  which  is  not  without  in- 
terest, namely  :  that  its  chief  significence  here  is  in  its  conveyal  of  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
by  the  imposition  of  hands.  •  Lightfoot  says  :  "  non  placet  quia  in  Ecclesiis  his  recens  plantatis 
ac  cosversis  nuUi  adhuc  erant  idonei  ad  Ministerium,  nisi  qui  per  impositionem  manuum  Apos- 
tolorum  Spiritum  Sanctum  acceperunt."  Chronicon,  97.  And  Poole  {Annotations,  Acts,  xiv: 
23),  says  the  word  means  "  here,  to  ordain  to  any  ofiftce  or  place  ;  which  might  the  rather  be 
done  by  stretching  out,  or  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  apostles,  because  by  that  means  the 
Holy  Ghost  (or  a  power  of  working  miracles)  was  frequently  bestowed,  (Chap,  viii:  17,  18,) 
which  in  those  times  was  necessary  to  authorize  their  doctrine  to  the  Infidel  world." 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  17 

*  prayer/  « fasting/  and  *  commending  to  the  Lord ')  which  follows  ; 
and  we  throw  the  narrative  out  of  all  natural  connection  with  the  sys- 
tem of  Church  affairs  which  is  elsewhere  revealed  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. If  we  read  it  "  appointed  them  elders  in  every  Church/'  we 
impose  this  secondary  sense  upon  the  verb  upon  feeble  evidence ;  we 
commit  Paul  and  Barnabas  to  a  course  of  policy  which  is  unlike  any 
thing  recorded  of  them  before  or  after ;  and  we  make  their  action 
exceptional  both  to  the  spirit  and  practice  of  the  time,  so  far  as  we 
can  gather  them  from  the  inspired  narrative.  It  is  admitted  that  the 
verb  expresses  some  action  of  Paul  and  Barnabas,  and  the  most  rea- 
sonable supposition  is  that  it  asserts  that  they  superintended  the  elec- 
tion of  elders  by  every  Church,  and  then  consecrated  them  with  fast- 
ing and  prayer.  This  theory  does  no  violence  to  the  verbal  integrity 
of  the  text,  while  it  brings  it  into  harmony  with  the  general  tenor  of 
the  action  of  the  early  churches.  This  explanation  is  that  of  many 
ancient  and  modern  scholars,^  and,  we  think,  justifies  itself  to  every 


1  "  Populus  pastores  eligit,  sed,  ne  quid  tumultuose  fieret,  praesident  Paulus  et  Barnabas, 
quasi  moderatores."  —  Calvin,  Comment,  in  loco. 

"  Solet  quidem  xecporovEtj/  (constituere)  sumi  de  quavis  electione,  etiam  quse  ab  uno  vel 
paucis  fit.  Sed  et  electioni,  de  qua  agitur,  accessisse  consensum  plebis  ciedible  est,  ob  id  quod 
in  re  minori  supra  habuimus,  vi :  2,  8." —  Grotius,  Comment,  in  loco. 

"  In  all  other  places  on  such  occasions,  the  apostles  did  admit  and  direct  the  churches  to  use 
their  liberty  in  their  choice.  (Vide  Acts,  xv :  22,  25 ;  1  Cor.  xvi :  3 ;  2  Cor.  viii :  19 ;  Acts,  vi :  3>) 
If  on  all  these  and  the  like  occasions,  the  apostles  did  guide  and  direct  the  i)eople  in  their  right, 
and  use  of  their  liberty,  as  unto  the  election  of  persons  unto  offices  and  employments  when  the 
churches  themselves  were  concerned,  what  reason  is  there  to  depart  from  the  proper  and  usual 
signification  of  the  word  in  this  place,  denoting  nothing  but  what  was  the  common  practice  of 
the  apostles  on  the  like  occasions  ?"  — Owen.  "2Vmc  Nature  of  a  Gospel  Church.^'  Works.  VoL 
xvi :  p.  63. 

"  The  spirit  of  similar  transactions  and  the  general  tenor  of  the  New  Testament,  forbid  the 
supposition  [that  Paul  and  Barnabas  acted  without  the  concurrence  of  the  churches].  Even 
in  appointing  an  apostle,  the  company  of  the  believers  took  a  prominent  part.  The  apostles  did 
not  complete  their  own  number  of  themselves.  The  popular  will  was  consulted.  So,  too,  in 
the  case  of  deacons.  Hence  it  may  be  fairly  inferred  that  the  appointment  of  elders  here  re- 
corded was  not  made  contrary  to  the  wish  of  the  disciples."  —  Davidson.  "  Heel.  Pol.  of  New 
Text.  p.  205. 

"  But  even  though  in  its  later  usage  x^^PoroveTp  may  have  acquired  the  general  signification 
of  the  supreme  investiture  of  officials,  yet,  in  its  original  acceptation,  it  signified  an  election,  by 
holding  up  of  the  hands  ;  and  this  signification  is  clearly  established  by  2  Cor.  viii :  18, 19,  to 
be  still  surviving  in  the  phraseology  of  the  New  Testament.  Besides,  the  transition  from  the 
original  to  the  secondary  signification  of  the  word  was  brought  about  by  the  course  of  political 
development,  whereas  in  ihe  Church  not  only  did  there  exist  no  such  ground  for  the  later 
usage,  but,  on  the  contrary,  an  opposite  influence  might  be  supposed  to  be  at  work.  Accord- 
ingly, we  must  allow  that  Rothe  is  right,  when,  with  regard  to  the  passage  before  us,  he  main- 
tains that  the  most  natural  interpretation  of  x^iporov^crapres  avrovs,  is  assuredly  the  one  whiclx 

2 


18  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

candid  mind,  as  that  best  fitting  all  the  exigences  of  the  case,  while 
distinctly  affirming  the  participation  of  the  entire  membership  in  the 
choice  of  those  who  were  thus  put  over  them  in  the  Lord. 

Evidently,  also,  the  whole  Church  acted  in  the  discipline  of  offend- 
ing members  —  as  Christ  had  commanded,^  —  for  Paul  says  ^  to  the 
Church  at  Corinth,  of  a  certain  offender,  "  put  away  from  yourselves 
that  wicked  person."  And  afterward  *  he  says  —  apparently  refer- 
ring to  subsequent  action  of  theirs  (caused  by  his  advice)  in  the  same 
case  —  "  sufficient  unto  such  a  man  is  this  punishment,  which  was  in- 
flicted {vvo  tojv  7t).ei6v(ov — hupo  tbu  pleionbn),  *  of  the  many,'  i.  e,  the 
brotherhood  of  the  voting  Church. 

It  is  equally  clear  that  the  whole  membership  was  consulted  in 
cases  of  doubt  and  difficulty.  Tliis  was  done  in  regard  to  Peter,^ 
when  there  was  a  question  whether  he  had  done  right  in  preaching 


adheres  the  closest  to  the  original  acceptation  of  the  word :  '  they  —  the  two  apostles  —  allow 
presbyters  to  be  chosen  for  the  community  by  voting.'  "  —  Baumgarten.  Apostolic  History,  vol. 
i.  p.  456. 

See  also  Neander.  Geschichte  der  Pflanz.  «.  Leit.  i,  203,  and  Simon,  die  Apostolische  Ge- 
meine-und  Kirchenver/assung,  S.  27. 

Dr.  Alexander,  himself  a  Presbyterian  —  whom  all  students  of  the  New  Testament  Greek  will 
respect  as  a  sound  critic  —  says  of  this  transaction:  "the  use  of  this  particular  expression, 
which  originally  signified  the  vote  of  an  assembly,  does  suffice  to  justify  us  in  supposing  that 
the  method  of  election  was  the  same  as  that  recorded  (Acts  vi :  5,  6),  where  it  is  explicitly  re- 
corded that  the  people  chose  the  seven,  and  the  twelve  ordained  them.^^  —  Alexander  on  Acts, 
vol.  ii.  p.  65. 

Albert  Barnes,  also  a  Presbyterian,  says  on  this  passage,  "  probably  all  that  is  meant  by  it  is 
that  they  (Paul  and  Barnabas)  presided  in  the  assembly  when  the  choice  was  made.  It  does 
not  mean  that  they  appointed  them  without  consulting  the  Church,  but  it  evidently  means 
that  they  appointed  them  in  the  usual  way  of  appointing  officers,  by  the  suffrage  of  the  peo- 
ple." —  Barnes^  Notes  on  Acts,  p.  211. 

It  is,  moreover,  a  curious  fact  that  the  old  English  Bibles  long  retained,  both  in  their  text 
and  margin,  the  recognition  of  a  popular  vote  in  this  election  of  elders.  Matthew  Tindal  says : 
(Rights  of  the  Chr.  Church  asserted),  "  We  read  only  of  the  apostles  constituting  elders  by  the 
Buflfrages  of  the  people,  which,  as  it  is  the  genuine  signification  of  the  Greek  word  used,  so  it  is 
accordingly  interpreted  by  Erasmus,  Beza,  Diodati,  and  those  who  translated  the  Swiss,  French, 
Italian,  Belgic,  and  even  English  Bibles,  till  the  Episcopal  correction,  which  leaves  out  the 
words  'by  election,'  as  well  as  the  marginal  notes,  which  affirm  that  the  Apostles  did  not 
thrust  Pastors  into  the  Church  through  a  lordly  superiority,  but  chose  and  placed  them  there 
by  the  voice  of  the  congregation." 

Tyndale's  translation  (A.  D.  1534)  reads,  "  And  when  they  had  ordened  them  elders  by  elec- 
tion in  every  congr^acion,"  etc.  Cranmer's  (A.  D.  1539),  "  And  whan  they  had  ordened  them 
elders  hy  elecdon  in  euery  congregacion,"  etc.  The  Genevan  (A.  D.  1557),  "  And  when  they 
had  ordeined  them  Elders  hy  election  in  every  Churche,"  etc.  This  recognition  disappears  in 
the  Bishop's  Bible  (1568),  (for  obvious  reasons),  and  from  the  Rheims  version  (1582),  and  found 
no  place  in  the  authorized  one,  dated  1611. 

1  Matt,  xviii :  17.  8  2  Cor.  ii :  6. 

2  1  Cor.  v:  13.  4  Acts  xi :  1-18. 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  19 

the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles,  and,  after  they  had  heard  the  evidence  in 
the  case,  "  they  ("  the  Apostles  and  brethren,")  held  their  peace  and 
glorified  God,  saying :  then  hath  God  also  to  the  Gentiles  granted  re- 
pentance unto  life."  So  when  the  question  arose  ^  whether  to  require 
Gentile  converts  to  be  circumcised,  we  find  that  Paul  and  Barnabas 
"  were  received  of  the  Church  and  of  the  Apostles  and  elders,"  and 
stated  the  case ;  after  which  "  it  pleased  the  Apostles  and  elders,  with 
the  whole  Church,  to  send  chosen  men  of  their  own  company  to  An- 
tioch,"  etc.  They  accordingly  chose  Judas  and  Silas  —  who  were 
neither  Apostles  nor  elders,  but  only  "  chief  men  among  the  breth- 
ren "  —  to  go  to  Antioch,  and  sent  a  letter  by  them,  beginning :  "  the 
Apostles  and  elders  and  brethren,  send  greeting,"  etc.  When  this 
committee  reached  Antioch,  they  called  not  the  officers  of  the  Church, 
merely,  together,  but  to  nlrfiog  —  to  plethos,  *the  multitude,'  and 
delivered  them  the  Epistle,  "  which  when  they  had  read,  they  i*ejoiced 
for  the  consolation."  Thus  the  whole  book  of  the  Acts  is  veined  by 
like  democratic  reference  to  "  the  brethren,"  as  the  court  of  ultimate 
appeal,  and  the  last  residence  of  the  power  that  was  in  the  Church. 
This  same  chapter  goes  on  (v.  33)  to  tell  us  significantly,  that  after 
Judas  and  Silas  had  tarried  a  space  at  Antioch,  "  they  were  let  go  in 
peace, /rom  the  brethren,  unto  the  Apostles." 

The  Apostles  were,  from  the  specialty  of  their  position,  exceptional 
to  all  rules,  yet  they  seem  always  careful  to  throw  the  weight  of  their 
influence  on  the  side  of  popular  rights.  They  counted  themselves 
"  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,"  and  their  language  to  the  masses 
of  the  Church  was,  "  ourselves  your  servants  for  Jesus'  sake."  They 
never  claimed  supreme  authority  over  the  Church  because  they  were 
Apostles,  and  they  taught  those  chosen  of  the  Church  whom  they  in- 
ducted into  office,  that  it  was  not  their  function  to  be  "lords  over 
God's  heritage,"  but  "  ensamples  to  the  flock."  They  indeed  exer- 
cised, in  the  beginning,  some  practical  control  over  the  infant 
churches  — just  as  our  missionaries  do  among  the  heathen  now  —  but 
it  appears  to  have  been  pro  tempore,  and  to  have  ceased  so  soon  as  those 
churches  were  in  circumstances  to  enter  upon  the  normal  conditions 
of  their  life.  They  addressed  the  membership  of  the  churches  as 
"brethren"  and  "sisters,"  and  when  remonstrating  with   them  for 

1  Acts  XT  :  4-31. 


20  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

any  irregularity,  it  was  still  with  them  as  "  brethren."  They  treated 
the  churches  as  independent  bodies,  capable  of,  and  responsible  for, 
self-government.  They  reported^  their  own  Apostolic  doings  to  them, 
as  if  they  considered  themselves  amenable  to  them. 

They  addressed  in  their  Epistles  the  whole  body  of  believers  ;  espe- 
cially when  they  spoke  of  matters  requiring  action.  Paul's  Epistle 
to  the  Church  at  Philippi,  begins :  "  Paul  and  Timotheus,  the  ser- 
vants of  Jesus  Christ,  to  all  the  saints  in  Christ  Jesus  which  are  at 
Philippi  —  with  the  bishops  [that  is,  pastors]  and  deacons."  They 
recognized  the  right  of  the  churches  to  send  out  messengers  and 
evangelists.  They  consulted  with  the  churches,  and  the  result  of  the 
discussion  about  circumcision  was  published  in  the  name  of  "the 
Apostles  and  elders  and  brethren."  They  advised  the  churches  to 
settle  their  own  difficulties,^  never  assuming  to  adjust  them  because 
they  were  Apostles.  They  laid  the  whole  matter  of  electing  officers 
and  disciplining  offisnders  upon  the  churches  —  functions  whose  very 
nature  involved  in  this  action  of  theirs  the  most  radical  and  convinc- 
ing testimony  that  they  believed  the  membership  of  the  Church  to  be, 
under  Christ,  the  ultimate  residence  of  Ecclesiastical  power.  They 
appear  even  to  have  devolved  the  administration  of  Christian  ordi- 
nances upon  the  pastors  of  the  individual  churches.  Paul  thanka 
God  that  he  personally  baptized  very  few.  Peter  did  not,  himself, 
baptize  CorneHus,  or  his  companions.^ 

The  Apostles,  clearly  filled  a  peculiar,  self-limiting  and  temporary 
office.  They  had  the  oversight  of  the  planting  of  churches,  and  the 
care  of  them  in  their  first  immaturity.  Paul  speaks  of  himself  as 
burdened  —  not  with  the  bishopric  of  some  particular  territory,  but 
with  "  that  which  cometh  upon  me  daily,  the  care  of  all  the  churches'* 
The  same  appears  to  have  been  true  of  his  brethren,  all  —  separately 
and  together,  wherever  Christ  might  call,  and  however  Christ  might 
guide  —  laboring  "  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ."  Chrysostom 
says,*  "  the,  Apostles  were  constituted  of  God  first-men  [*  overseers,' 
*  leaders  'J  not  of  separate  cities  and  nations,  but  aU  were  entrusted 
with  the  world.'*   When  they  died,  they  left  the  churches  to  go  on  in 


1  See  Acts  xi :  1-18 ;  xiv :  26,  27,  etc.  8  Acts  x  :  48. 

8  1  Cor.  Ti :  1-8.  4  As  cited  by  CampbcU,  Lee.  p.  775. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  21 

this  line  of  democratic  life  which  they  evidently  felt  that  Christ  had 
prompted,  and  which  they  had,  clearly,  labored  to  promote. 

Placing  this  now  by  the  side  of  those  deductions  from  our  Saviour's 
teachings  which  we  have  already  made,  we  seem  to  get  very  clear 
and  sufficient  evidence  that  the  Christian  Church,  as  it  went  forth 
from  the  immediate  impress  of  the  Saviour  and  his  inspired  follow- 
ers, on  its  divine  mission  of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  every  creature, 
was  essentially  democratic,  or  Congregational,  in  form  —  recognizing 
no  power  of  ruHng  above  its  membership  below  Christ  still  its  Great 
Head ;  its  few  and  simple  offices  being  offices  of  service  and  not  of 
mastership  ;  and  its  presiding  and  controlling  spirit  one  of  fraternity, 
simplicity,  and  universal  responsibility. 

Section  3.     The  Testimony  of  History  in  favor  of  Congregation- 
alism, 

As  this  Church  of  churches  went  abroad  on  its  holy  mission,  it 
would  naturally  go  in  the  spirit  of  its  founders,  and  repeat  every- 
where the  model  of  its  original  in  its  earliest  home.  Gieseler  ^  says, 
"  the  new  churches  out  of  Palestine  formed  themselves  after  the  pat- 
tern of  the  mother  Church  in  Jerusalem,"  and  all  the  earliest  and 
most  trustworthy  authorities  which  have  come  down  to  us  confirm 
his  words,  and  indicate  that  the  democratic  platform  continued  to  be 
characteristic  of  the  Church  until  it  was  modified,  in  the  second  and 
third  centuries  after  Christ,  by  the  invasion  of  alien  elements.  It  is 
not  our  purpose  here  to  anticipate  the  full  discussion  of  particulars, 
which  is  subsequently  proposed  under  their  separate  heads.  It  is 
sufficient,  at  this  stage  of  the  discussion,  to  quote  the  testimony  of  one 
every  way  competent  to  form  a  judgment,  who  has  studied  the  sub- 
ject of  Christian  Antiquities,  in  their  bearing  upon  Church  govern- 
ment, with  more  tireless  zeal  and  exhaustive  research,  than  perhaps 
any  other  living  man,^  and  who  sums  up  the  result,  under  this  head, 
as  follows :  —  "  These  [early  Christian]  churches,  wherever  formed, 
became  separate  and  independent  bodies,  competent  to  appoint  their 
own  officers,  and  to  administer  their  own  government,  without  refer- 
ence or  subordination  to  any  central  authority  or  foreign  power.     No 

1  Davidson's  Translation,  t.  1.  p.  90.  2  Rev.  Lyman  Coleman,  D.  D. 


» 


22  CONGBEGATIONALISM. 

fact  connected  with  the  history  of  the  primitive  churches  is  more  fully 
established  or  more  generally  conceded."  ^ 

It  was  not  till  the  latter  half  of  the  second  century  after  Christ, 
when  the  fervor  of  the  piety  of  the  Apostolic  age  had  began  to  cool, 
that  the  office  and  title  of  bishop,  —  in  any  sense  correspondent  to 
any  thing  now  suggested  by  that  name  —  begin  to  show  themselves 
in  the  history  of  the  Church,  and  then  they  appear  to  have  come  in 
as  the  choice  between  two  evils.^  The  formation  of  a  sacerdotal 
caste,  claiming  for  themselves  prerogatives  and  authority  like  those  of 
the  Jewish  priesthood,  followed;  until  the  people  were  stripped  of 
the  right  of  the  election  of  their  pastors,^  ecclesiastical  officers  were 
multiplied,  and,  by  the  desire  of  ambitious  men  among  the  clergy  to 
acquire  power  —  favored  by  the  fact  that  their  superior  culture  nec- 
essarily gave  them  great  influence  over  a  comparatively  illiterate 
Church  membership — the  order  of  the  Church  was  gradually  swayed 
from  the  simple  democracy  of  Jerusalem  and  Antioch  *  clean  over '  to 
the  monarchic  abominations  of  the  Papacy. 

Neighboring  churches  were  first  consolidated  into  one  bishopric, 
then  aggregated  bishoprics  grew  into  a  vast  hierarchy,  which  over- 
came all  popular  resistance,  and  settled  itself  securely  for  centuries 
at  Rome,  giving  birth  there  to  those  monstrous  and  malignant  here- 
sies of  doctrine,  and  those  mournful  and  miserable  immoralities  of  life, 
which,  raying  out  gloom  upon  the  general  mind  and  heart,  brought  on 
the  long  night  of  "  the  dark  ages." 


1  •'  Ancient  Christianity  exemplified."    Chap.  vi.  sec.  4.  p.  95. 

2  Jerome  {lived  A.  D.  331-420)  suggests  that  the  idea  of  a  standing  officer,  called  a  bishop, 
■was  resorted  to  as  an  expedient  to  quell  the  unchristian  dissensions  which  had  arisen  among 
the  clergy.    He  says  :  — 

"  Idem  est  ergo  presbyter,  qui  episcopus  ;  et  antequam  diaboli  instinctu,  studia  in  religions 
fierent,  et  diceretur  in  populis  ;  ego  sum  Pauli ;  ego,  Apollo,  ego  autem  Cephao,  communi  pres- 
byteriorum  consilio  ecclesiae  gubernabantur.  Postquam  vero,  unusquisque  eos,  quos  bapti- 
zarerat  suos  putabat  esse,  non  Christi,  in  toto  orbe  decretum  est,  ut  unus  de  presbyteris  electus 
euperponeretur  caeteris,  ad  quern  omnis  ecclesi®  cura  pertineret  et  schismatum  semina  tolle- 
rentur." —  Comment,  on  Tit.  i.  5-    Opera,  torn.  ix.  fol.  245. 

'  3  It  is  remarkable  that  a  trace  of  this  original  Congregationalism,  even  to  this  day,  maintains 
and  justifies  itself  in  the  very  ritual  of  the  Papal  system  ;  since  the  Bishop  is  made  to  say,  while 
ordaining  a  priest :  '  it  was  not  without  good  reason  that  the  fathers  had  ordained  that  the  advice 
of  the  people  should  be  taken  in  the  election  of  those  persons  who  were  to  serve  at  the  altar ;  to  the 
end  that,  having  given  assent  to  their  ordination,  they  might  the  more  readily  yield  obedience  to 
those  who  were  so  ordained  '  ["  Neque  enim  frustra  a  patribus  institutum,  ut  de  electione  illo- 
rum  qui  ad  regimen  altaris  adhibendi  sunt,  consulatur  etiam  populus,"  etc.].  —  Fontif.  Rom, 
DeOrdinat.  Pres.fol.  38. 


c 

WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  "^^^jj  £  f  ^-. 

The  fact  was  long  unknown  to  the  world,  yet  there  seems  to  "He" 
good  evidence  that  in  the  valleys  of  the  Cottian  Alps,  a  little  band, 
known  since  the  twelfth  century  as  '  the  Waldenses,'  successfully  re- 
sisted this  invasion  of  Papal  corruption,  and  maintained  their  position 
against  all  persecution.^  They  were  the  faithful  ones  to  whom  Milton 
makes  such  stirring  reference  in  his  thirteenth  Sonnet :  — 

"  Avenge,  0  Lord,  thy  slaughtered  Saints,  whose  bones 

Lie  scattered  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold ; 

Even  them  who  kept  thy  truth  so  pure  of  old. 

When  all  our  fathers  worshipped  stocks  and  stones, 
Forget  not :  in  thy  book  record  their  groans. 

Who  were  thy  sheep,  and  in  their  ancient  fold 

Slain  by  the  bloody  Piemontese  that  rolled 

Mother  with  infant  down  the  rocks.     Their  moans 
The  vales  redoubled  to  the  hills,  and  they 

To  Heaven.     Their  martyred  blood  and  ashes  sow 

O'er  all  the  Italian  fields,  where  still  doth  sway 
The  triple  tyrant ;  that  from  these  may  grow 

A  hundred  fold,  who,  having  learned  thy  way. 

Early  may  fly  the  Babylonian  woe." 

But,  with  this  exception,  "  darkness  covered  the  earth,  and  gross 
darkness  the  people,"  until  the  Reformation  dawned  upon  a  world 
that  —  largely  Christian  as  it  was,  in  name  —  resembled  that  Chris- 
tian world  on  which  the  Apostles  closed  their  dying  eyes  scarcely  so 
much  as  the  bittern-haunted  solitudes  of  the  wilderness  of  Mount 
Seir  to-day  resemble  that  magnificent  Petra  which  dwelt  so  proudly  in 
the  clefts  of  the  rocks,  centering  the  caravans  of  Arabia,  and  Persia, 
and  Egypt,  and  Syria,  and  overflowing  with  the  wealth  of  the  Orient. 

Moreover,  Luther  and  his  immediate  coworkers  in  this  Reformation 
were  so  engrossed  by  the  consideration  of  the  religious  errors  of  Ro- 
manism, as  a  system  of  personal  salvation  for  guilty  and  lost  men, 
and  so  intent  upon  restoring  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone 


1  They  claim  to  have  inherited  their  religion,  with  their  lands,  from  the  primitive  Christiana. 
The  '■  Nobla  Leyczon^  (A.  D.  1100);  Moneta,  '  Contra  Catharos  et  Valdenses,^  Lib.  v.  p.  405, 
(A.  D.  1240) ;  and  Reinerus,  '  De  Sectis  Antiquormn  Haereticorum^''  c.  4.  Bib.  Pair.  Vol.  iv. 
(A.  D.  1250)  bear  witness  that  the  sect  which  they  call  "  Vaudfe,"  and  "  Lombardi  Pauperes," 
and  which  was  beyond  question  identical  with  those  whom  we  call  the  Waldenses,  made  the 
same  claim,  six  and  seven  hundred  years  ago,  which  they  now  make,  of  direct  descent  from  the 
primitive  Church  without  alloy  from  the  Papacy. 


fA  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

to  its  ancient  and  Scriptural  place  before  the  people,  that  they  seem, 
for  a  time,  to  have  overlooked  the  fact  that  the  organic  constitution 
of  the  Church  had  been  changed  from  its  original  simpUcity  quite  as 
much  as  the  great  doctrines  of  faith ;  with  the  related  fact  that  those 
very  errors  of  doctrine  had  come  in  through  the  door  opened  for  them 
by  those  organic  modifications.  Nor  ought  we  to  forget  that  the  first 
Reformers  were  so  dependent  upon  the  cooperation  and  protection  of 
the  secular  arm  of  kings,  princes,  and  nobles,  who  would  have  frowned 
upon  any  attempt  to  introduce  radical  reform  into  the  outward  struc- 
ture of  the  existing  Church,  that  they  may  readily  have  felt  that,  if 
any  effort  in  that  direction  were  desirable,  the  time  had  not  yet  come 
when  it  could  be  wisely  attempted.  It  was  only  when  further  expe- 
rience had  tailght  the  truly  pious  that  a  hierarchy  with  the  doctrine 
of  justification  by  faith  could  be  just  as  tyrannical  as  a  hierarchy 
without  it,  and  that  any  comfortable  and  equitable  enjoyment  of  the 
individual  right  of  thought  and  action  was  beyond  hope  so  long  as 
the  working  processes  of  the  Church  remained  what  they  were ;  that 
the  philosophy  of  the  connection  between  the  outward  form  and  the 
inward  life  of  religion  began  to  be  reasoned  out,  and  men,  reading 
their  Bibles  anew  with  this  point  specially  in  mind,  at  length  made 
the  startling  discovery  that  the  genuine  Church  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment —  that  pure  a^nd  simple  democracy  which  Christ  gathered  about 
himself,  and  which  the  Apostles  nurtured,  and  which  both  bequeathed 
to  the  future  as  the  instrument  of  its  regeneration,  —  no  longer  had 
visible  existence  among  men. 

From  the  day  of  Wickliffe  —  in  Milton's  words,  "  honored  of  God 
to  be  the  first  preacher  of  a  general  Reformation  to  all  Europe,"  and 
since  Milton's  day  affirmed  to  be  "  the  modem  discoverer  of  the  doc- 
trines of  Congregational  dissent "  ^  —  there  were  persons  in  England 
seeking  this  great  truth,  if  haply  they  might  feel  afler  it  and  find  it. 
The  Baptists  ^  date  the  origin  of  their  existence  as  a  denomination, 
among  those  days,  and  those  investigations.  There  can  be  httle 
question,  however,  that  this  discovery  was  most  fully  made  by  the 
!^nglish  Puritans.  Attempting  to  organize  their  own  religious  life 
in  accordance  with  it,  at  Scrooby  and  elsewhere,  the  English  hierarchy 
drove  them  out  with  violence.     They  cast  about  for  a  country  where 

1  London  and  Westminster  Review.  No.  1.  1837.      2  Belcher's  "  Religious  Denominations." 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  25 

they  might  reproduce  the  Apostolic  model,  and  attempt  to  bring  men 
back  to  its  understanding  and  imitation.  Fourteen  years  before  the 
company  which  John  Robinson  had  trained  and  sent  forth  from  Ley- 
den  with  his  blessing,  landed  on  the  rock  of  Plymouth,  they  had  band- 
ed themselves  together  into  a  Congregational  Church,^  —  the  mother 
Church  of  New  England  —  on  those  principles,  hinted  at  in  the  pre- 
vious chapter,  which  have  given  so  much  of  vitality  and  of  victory 
to  the  reformed  religion  in  this  land,  and  which,  ^adually  leavening 
the  lump  of  modem  Society,  have  inwrought  themselves  into  the  reli- 
gious life  of  the  age  to  that  extent  which  has  been  indicated  in  the 
statistics  already  given. 

Section  4.    Proof  from  Scripture  and  Reason  of  the  Truth  of  the 
Essential  Principles  of  Gongregationalism. 

Having  thus  glanced  at  the  teachings  of  Christ  and  his  apostles, 
and  the  history  of  the  churches  founded  by  them,  and  so  taken  pre- 
paratory notice  of  the  general  drift  of  the  four  Gospels,  and  the  Book 
of  the  Acts,  and  the  state  of  the  facts,  in  the  direction  of  the  cardinal 
doctrines  of  Congregationalism,  we  are  now  prepared,  more  intelli- 
gently, for  a  more  rigid  inquiry  how  far  its  essential  and  distinguish- 
ing features  bear  the  complexion  of  common  sense,  and  of  that  word 
of  our  God  which  is  to  stand  forever  ? 

We  may  safely  take  the  seminal  Congregational  principle  —  that 
the  Bible,  rightly  interpreted,  is  our  only  and  sufficient  guide  —  for 
granted,  and  proceed  to  test  those  doctrines  which,  under  the  guidance 
of  that  principle,  the  system  announces  as  imperative  upon  men.  In 
doing  so,  it  will  be  convenient  to  follow  the  order  in  which  they  have 
been  already  announced —  (pp.  2,  3,  4). 

I.  Any  company  op  people  believing  themselves  to  be, 

AND  publicly  PROFESSING  THEMSELVES  TO  BE  CHRISTIANS,  AS- 
sociated by  voluntary  compact,  on  gospel  principles,  for 
Christian  work  and  worship,  is  a  true  Church  of  Christ. 

Here  are  four  distinct  points,  namely : 

1.  A  true  Church  must  be  composed  of  those  who  believe  them- 
selves to  be,  and  publicly  profess  to  be,  Christians. 

1  Hunter's  "  Founders  of  new  Plymouth."    p.  89. 


ZD  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

2.  To  constitute  a  true  Church,  these  professedly  Christian  per- 
sons must  be  united  together,  on  Gospel  principles,  by  voluntary  com- 
pact, or  covenant. 

3.  That  covenant  must  be  for  purposes  of  Christian  work  and 
worship. 

4.  Every  such  company  of  professing  Christians,  united  by  such  a 
covenant,  for  Christian  work  and  worship,  is  a  true  Church  of  Christ. 

1.  A  true  Church  must  be  composed  of  those  who  believe  themselves  to 
be,  and  publicly  profess  to  be,  Christians.^ 

They  must  believe  themselves  to  be  Christians,  or  their  movement 
toward  a  Church  estate  becomes  stamped  at  once  with  hypocrisy  or 
total  misapprehension.  They  must  profess  themselves  to  be  Chris- 
tians —  and  do  so  publicly  —  because  the  very  idea  of  a  Church  in- 
volves the  idea  of  confessing  Christ  before  men ;  ^  of  letting  the  light 
of  their  piety  shine  before  men,  that  God  may  be  glorified.  That 
such  hopeful  piety  in  its  members  is  essential  to  the  existence  of  a 
true  Church,  will  appear  to  be  true  from  the  testimony  of  several 
classes  of  passages. 

(1.)  I^rom  those  texts  which  describe  the  Church  as  being  a  holy 
body.     Such  as :  — 

Heb.  xii :  23.  The  General  Assembly  and  Church  of  the  first 
bom,  which  are  written  in  heaven. 

Acts  ii :  47.  And  the  Lord  added  to  the  Church  daily  such  as 
should  be  saved. 


1  "  Now  how  marvellous  a  thing  is  it,  and  lamentable  withal,  that  amongst  Christians,  any 
Bhould  be  found  so  far  at  odds  with  Christian  holiness,  as  to  think  that  others  than  apparently 
holy,  at  the  least,  deserved  admittance  into  the  fellowship  of  Christ's  Church,  and  therewith  of 
Christ  I  Do,  or  can,  the  gracious  promises  of  God  made  to  the  Church,  the  heavenly  blessings 
due  to  the  Church,  the  seals  of  divine  grace  given  to  the  Church,  appertain  to  others  than 
Buch  ?"  —  Jo/m  Robinson.  Works.   Vol.  iii.  p.  66. 

"  Both  the  Scriptures,  and  common  reason  teach,  that  whomsoever  the  Lord  doth  call,  and  use 
to,  and  in  any  special  work  or  employment,  he  doth  in  a  special  manner  separate  and  sanctify 
them  thereunto.  And  so  the  Church,  being  to  be  employed  in  the  special  service  of  God,  to  the 
glory  of  his  special  love,  and  mercy  in  their  happiness,  and  to  show  forth  his  virtues,  must  be 
of  such  persons,  as,  by  and  in  whom,  he  will,  and  may  thus  be  worshipped  and  glorified."  — 
Ibid.  Vol.  iii,  p.  127. 

"  Est  societas  Jidelium,  quia  idem  illud  in  professione  constituit  Ecclesiam  visibilem,  quod 
interna  et  reali  sua  natura  constituit  Ecclesiam  mysticam ;  id  est  Jides."  Amesius,  MeduU. 
Theol.  Lib.  Prim.  Cap.  xxxii.  sec.  7. 

"  By  a  visible  Church,  we  are  to  understand  a  society  of  visible  saints.^^  —  Emmons.  Vol.  v. 
p.  444. 

a  Matt,  x:  32  i  Luke  xii:  8 ;  Matt,  v:  16,  etc. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  27 

Rom.  ii :  29.  But  he  is  a  Jew  which  is  one  inwardly ;  and  cir- 
cumcision is  that  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter ; 
whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but  of  God. 

(2.)  From  those  which  describe  the  vital  union  between  Christ  and 
the  Church,     Such  as :  — 

John  XV :  5.     I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches,  etc. 

1  Cor.  vi :  15.  Know  ye  not  that  your  bodies  ai*e  the  members  of 
Christ  ? 

Eph.  i :  22,  23.  And  hath  put  all  things  under  his  feet,  and  gave 
him  to  be  the  head  over  all  things  to  the  Church,  which  is  his  body, 
etc. 

Eph.  ii :  20-22.  And  are  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  Apostles 
and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  comer  stone ;  in 
whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed  together  groweth  unto  an  holy 
temple  in  the  Lord :  in  whom  ye  also  are  builded  together,  etc. 

(3.)  From  those  which  announce  the  design  which  Christ  has  in 
regard  to  the  Church.     Such  as  :  — 

Titus  ii:  14.  Who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us 
from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous 
of  good  works. 

"  Eph.  V :  25,  26.  Even  as  Christ  also  loved  the  Church  and  gave 
himself  for  it ;  that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it . . .  that  he  might 
present  it"  to  himself  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle, 
or  any  such  thing ;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish. 

(4.)  From  those  which  affirm  a  radical  distinction  between  the 
Church  and  the  world.     Such  as :  — 

2  Cor.  vi:  14-18.  For  what  fellowship  hath  righteousness  with 
unrighteousness  ?  and  what  communion  hath  light  with  darkness  ? 
and  what  concord  hath  Christ  with  Belial  ?  or  what  part  hath  he  that 
believeth  with  an  infidel?  and  what  agreement  hath  the  temple  of 
God  with  idols  ?  for  ye  are  the  temple  of  the  living  God  .  .  .  where- 
fore come  out  from  among  them,  and  be  ye  separate,  saith  the  Lord, 
etc. 

Eph.  v:  11.  Have  no  fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works  of 
darkness,  but  rather  reprove  them. 

2  John:  10,  11.  If  there  come  any  unto  you,  and  bring  not  this 
doctrine,  receive  him  not  into  your  house,  neither  bid  him  God-speed : 
for  he  that  biddeth  him  God-speed  is  partaker  of  his  evil  deeds. 


28  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

(5.)  From  those  which  require  such  preparation  for  the  reception 
of  Ghurch  ordinances  as  only  believers  can  have.     Such  as :  — 

Acts  ii :  38.     Repent  and  be  baptized. 

1  Cor.  V :  8.  Let  us  keep  the  feast,  not  with  old  leaven,  neither 
with  the  leaven  of  malice  and  wickedness ;  but  with  the  unleavened 
bread  of  sincerity  and  truth. 

1  CJor.  xi:  27-29.  Wherefore,  whosoever  shall  eat  this  bread, 
and  drink  this  cup  of  the  Lord,  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  the  Lord.  But  let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so 
let  him  eat  of  that  bread,  and  drink  of  that  cup.  For  he  that  eateth 
and  drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh  damnation  to  himself, 
not  discerning  the  Lord's  body. 

(6.)  From  those  which  require  the  discipline  of  unworthy  members* 
Such  as :  — 

1  Cor.  v:  11-13.     But  now  I  have  written  unto  you  not  to  keep^ 
company,  if  any  man  that  is  called  a  brother  be  a  fornicator,  or  covet- 
ous, or  an  idolater,  or  a  railer,  or  a  drunkard,  or  an  extortioner ;  with 
such  a  one,  no,  not  to  eat.  .  .  .   Therefore  put  away  from  among 
yourselves  that  wicked  person. 

2  Thess.  iii :  6.  Withdraw  yourselves  from  every  brother  that 
walketh  disorderly. 

Tit.  iii :  10.  A  man  that  is  a  heretic,  after  the  first  and  second 
admonition,  reject. 

To  these  might  be  added,  also,  that  great  class  of  texts  which  rep- 
resent the  Church  as  the  Christianizing  element  in  human  society ; 
as  the  *  salt  of  the  earth,'  the  *  light  of  the  world,'  the  *  pillar  and 
ground  of  the  truth,*  etc.  But  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  multiply 
proofs  of  so  plain  a  pomt.  If  the  Church  is  appomted  to  be  pecul- 
iarly a  holy  body,  if  its  members  are  to  be  united  to  Christ  by  the 
bond  of  a  living  faith,  if  Christ's  design  for  the  Church  involves  holi- 
ness in  its  membership,  if  it  is  to  be  radically  distinguished  from  the 
world,  if  only  believers  can  rightly  partake  of  its  ordinances,  and  if 
the  unworthy  in  its  ranks  are  to  be  cut  off;  it  becomes  very  clear 
that  only  those  who  believe  and  profess  to  be  Christians  have  any 
right  to  its  privileges,  or  any  share  in  its  promises.  The  worldly- 
minded  man,  however  correct  in  outward  morality,  has  no  place  there. 
His  salt  is  without  savor.  The  light  that  is  in  him  is  darkness.  The 
idea  that  all  persons  who  live  a  life  outwardly  reputable,  or  who  have 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  29 

great  respect  for  Christian  things,  or  who  —  to  use  the  language  of 
the  Methodist  "  DiscipHne,"  ^  —  have  merely  a  "  desire  of  salvation," 
may  rightly  belong  to  the  Church,  was  not  an  Apostolic,  as  it  is  not  a 
Scriptural  idea,^  but  was  begotten  in  the  day  when  the  Church  and 
the  world  began  to  fraternize. 

2.  To  constitute  a  true  Church,  these  professedly  Christian  people 
must  be  united  together  by  voluntary  compact,  or  covenant.^ 

The  necessity  for  this  arises  out  of  the  very  nature  of  things.  A 
Church  is  an  organization.  But  every  organization  must  have  some 
organizing  bond.  The  very  act  of  associating  implies  a  purpose,  and 
the  act  of  associating  for  a  purpose  implies  some  mutual  understand- 
ing of,  and  agreement  in,  that  purpose,  and  such  understanding  and 
agreement  is  a  covenant  —  express  or  implied;  written,  verbal,  or  of 
.inference. 

God  bound  his  people  to  himself  and  to  each  other,  in  the  olden 
time,  by  covenants,  references  to  which  are  scattered  along  the  pages 
of  both  Old  Testament  and  New.*  And  there  are  many  Biblical 
principles  and  precepts  which  imply  that  it  is  God's  will  for  his  chil- 


1  "  Doctrines  and  Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. "    Ed.  1856,  pp.  27,  28. 

2  "  A  Church,  consisting  of  the  indiscriminate  mass  of  a  nation,  where  the  great  majority 
have  no  semblance  of  Christian  character,  would  have  astounded  the  early  fathers ;  though 
their  successors  were  by  degrees  familiarized,  but  not  always  reconciled,  to  the  mischievous 
perversion  of  terms."  —  Bennett.  '■'•Theol.  of  Early  Church.^*  p.  142. 

"  There  is  no  evidence  in  the  New  Testament  of  the  term  Ecclesia  ever  being  applied  to  a  visi- 
ble baptized  society  consisting  of  a  mixed  multitude,  godly  and  ungodly."  —  Davidson.  ''  Eccl. 
Pol.  of  the  New  Test.''>  p.  130. 

3  "  That  whereby  the  Church  is  as  a  city  compacted  together,  is  the  Covenant."  —  John  Dav- 
enporVs  "  Power  of  Congregational  Churches  asserted  and  vindicated.-''  p.  37. 

"  Mutuall  covenanting  and  confoederating  of  the  Saints  in  the  fellowship  of  the  faith  according 
to  the  order  of  the  Gospel,  is  that  which  gives  constitution  and  being  to  a  visible  Church."  — 
Hooker''s  '■'■Survey  of  the  Summe  of  Church  Discip.''^  p.  46. 

"  For  the  joyning  of  faithfull  Christians  into  the  fellowship  and  estate  of  a  Church,  we  finde  not 
in  Scripture  that  God  hath  done  it  any  other  way  then  by  entering  all  of  them  together  (as 
one  man)  into  an  holy  Covenant  with  himselfe."    John  Cotton's  "^  Way  of  the  Churches,''''  p.  2. 

''Corpus  sumus  de  conscientia  religionis,  et  disciplinse  divinitate,  et  spei/ojrfere."  —  Tertul- 
lian.  Apol.  39.  This  is  misquoted  by  John  Wise,  who  adds  "  whereas  such  a  body,  or  religious 
society,  could  not  be  united  but  by  a  covenant ;  he  (TertuUian)  calls  it  a  covenant  of  hope,  be- 
cause the  principal  respect  therein  was  had  unto  the  things  hoped  for." — John  Wise's  "  Vindi- 
cation.''^ p.  8,  Ed.  1772. 

"  Vinculum  hoc  est  fxdus,  vel  expressum,  vel  implicitum."— ^IwiesiMS,  Lib.  i.  Cap.  xxxii :  15. 

"  Materia  Ecclesise,  sunt  tum  communiter  vocati,  et  in  fizdus  gratiae  recepti.  WolleHus, 
Lib.  i.  Cap.  xxv :  10. 

4  Gen.  xvii :  7 ;  Exod.  xxxiv  :  27 ;  Deut.  iv :  13,  ix :  11,  xxix :  12 ;  Josh,  xxiv :  16-25 ;  Neh.  ix : 
38;  Ps.  ciii:  18;  Rom.  ix:  4:  Gal.  iu:  17,  iv:  24;  Eph.  u:  12;  Heb.  viii:  7,  etc. 


30  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

dren  to  become  united,  as  a  covenant,  only,  would  unite  them.  His 
Church  is  a  *  city,'  a  *  house,'  a  '  body  fitly  joined  together  and  com- 
pacted ; '  a  *  body '  in  which  there  should  be  no  *  schism.'  Its  acts 
are  directed  to  be  such  as  imply  the  union  of  its  members  in  cove- 
nant ;  otherwise  it  could  not  '  withdraw '  itself  *  from  every  brother 
that  walketh  disorderly,'  nor  '  love  the  brotherhood,'  nor  *  walk  by 
the  same  rule,'  nor  *  mind  the  same  thing.' 

3.  This  covenant  nmst  be  for  purposes  of  Christian  worlc  and  wor- 
ship} 

Grood  people  aflfiliated  for  good  purposes  are  not  a  Church,  unless 
those  purposes  are  distmctively  Ghurch  purposes ;  that  is,  unless  they 
aim  directly  at  the  promotion  of  the  worship  and  service  of  God  on 
Earth.  This  is  evidently  true  in  itself,  and  it  finds  proof  m  all  which 
the  Scriptures  say  of  the  churches  of  Christ.  Turning  to  the  first 
admission  of  members  to  the  Christian  Church  after  the  ascension,^ 
we  see  that  they  *  that  gladly  received  the  word '  were  baptized  and 
*  added  to  the  Lord ; '  that  they  *  continued  steadfastly  in  the  Apos- 
tles' doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in  breaking  of  bread  and  in  prayer.' 
So  the  uniting  one's  self  to  the  Church  is  called  ^  <  confessing  Christ 
before  men,'  that  is,  publicly  pledging  one's  self  to  personal  faith  in 
Christ,  and  a  life  of  obedience  to  him.  It  is  laid  down  as  the  duty  of 
the  members  of  the  Church,^  to  *  consider  one  another,  to  provoke  unto 
love,  and  to  good  works ;  not  forsaking  the  assembling  of  themselves 
together.'  All  which  (coincident  with  the  whole  tenor  of  the  Gos- 
pel) goes  to  show  that  when  men  form  a  Church  or  join  themselves 
to  one,  they  enter  into  a  covenant  for  sacred  purposes ;  —  the  mainte- 
nance of  all  Christian  doctrines,  the  practice  of  all  Christian  duty, 
the  salvation  of  men  and  the  glory  of  God. 

4.  Every  such  company  of  professing  Christians,  so  united  hy  cov- 
enant for  Christian  work  and  worship,  is  a  true  Church  of  Christ!* 

1  "  Christ,  believed  on  and  confessed,  is  the  rock  whereupon  a  particular  visible  Church  is 
built."  —  John  Davenport.  ^'^ Power  of  Congregational  Churches  vindicated.''*  p.  10. 

2  Acts  ii :  41-46. 
8  Matt.  X :  32. 

4  Heb.  x:24,25. 

5  ''  This  we  hold  and  afBrm,  that  a  company,  consisting  though  but  of  two  or  three,  separated 
from  the  world  — whether  unchristian  or  anti-christian — and  gathered  into  the  name  of  Christ 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  31 

This  will  be  seen  to  be  true  from  two  considerations. 

(1.)  Frrni  the  Scriptural  use  of  the  word  *  Church.'  The  Greek 
word  tmhiaia  —  ekklesia,  is  derived  from  a  verb  meaning  <  to 
call  out,'  and  hence,  *to  assemble,'  and  is  the  word  that  had  been 
long  in  use  at  Athens  to  signify  the  general  assembly  of  the  citi- 
zens, in  which  they  met  to  discuss  and  determine  upon  matters 
of  public  interest ;  —  regularly  about  four  times  a  month,  and,  on 
occasions  of  sudden  importance,  whenever  summoned  by  express 
for  that  purpose.^  The  word  is  used  in  three  senses  in  the  New 
Testament 

(a.)  It  sometimes  has  this  primary  meaning  ;  as  in  the  account  of 
the  tumultuous  gathering  at  Ephesus,  where  the  '  town  clerk '  says :  ^ 
"  if  ye  inquire  any  thing  concerning  other  matters,  it  shall  be  de- 
termined in  a  lawful  assembly^  "and  he  dismissed  the  assembly" 
Stephen  seems  to  have  used  it  in  much  the  same  general  sense 
of  *  a  gathered  multitude,'  where  he  said  of  Moses,^  "  this  is  he  that 
was  in  the  kaxXt^Gia,  in  the  wilderness,  with  the  angel,"  etc. 

(b.)  It  is  sometimes  used  to  describe  the  general  assembly  of  Chris- 
tian people  on  earth  —  the  Church  universal.  Thus,  in  these  pas- 
sages :  — 

"  God  hath  set  some  in  the  Churchy  first  apostles,  secondarily 
prophets,"  etc.* 

by  a  covenant  made  to  walk  in  all  the  ways  of  God  known  unto  them,  is  a  Church,  and  so  hath 
the  whole  power  of  Christ."-- JoAn  Robinson.     Works,  Vol.  ii.  p.  132. 

"  And  for  the  gathering  of  a  Church  I  do  tell  you,  that  in  what  place  s»ever,  by  what  means 
soever,  whether  by  preaching  the  Gospel  by  a  true  minister,  by  a  Mse  minister,  by  no  minister, 
or  by  reading  and  conference,  or  by  any  other  means  of  publishing  it,  two  or  three  faithful  peo- 
ple do  arise,  separating  themselves  from  the  world  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Gospel,  and  cove- 
nant of  Abraham,  they  are  a  Church  truly  gathered,  though  never  so  weak,''  etc.  —  Und.  Vol. 
u,  p.  232. 

"  Every  congregation  or  assembly  of  men,  ordinarily  joined  together  in  the  worship  of  God,  ia 
a  true  visible  Church  of  Christ."  —  Bradshaw^s  "■English  Puritanism. '>''    Need,  Vol.  i.  p.  428. 

"  A  congregation,  or  particular  Church,  is  a  society  of  believers  joined  together  by  a  special 
band  among  themselves,  for  the  constant  exercise  of  the  communion  of  saints  among  them- 
selves."—4mestu5,  Medull.  Tlieol.  Cap.  xxxii.  Sec.  6. 

"  The  visible  Church  state  which  Christ  hath  instituted  under  the  New  Testament,  consists 
in  an  especial  society,  or  congregation  of  professed  believers."  — JbA»  Oioen.  Works.  Vol.  xv. 
p.  262. 

"  Sed  ubi  tres,  Ecclesia  est,  licet  laici."—  Tertullian.   Be  Exhor.  Cast.  Sec.  7. 

1  See  Article  Ecclesia,  in  Smith's  "  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities."  p.  439. 
Also  Hermann's  "  Political  Antiquities,"  See's  125, 128. 

2  Acts  xix :  39-41.  4  1  Cor.  xii :  28. 
8  Acts  vii :  38. 


82  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

**  I  persecuted  the  Church  of  God,  and  wasted  it,"  etc.* 

**  Head  over  all  things  to  the  Church.^'  ^ 

**  The  general  assembly  and  Church  of  the  first  born,  which  are 
written  in  heaven,"  etc.** 

(c.)  Its  most  distinct  and  frequent  sense  is,  however,  that  of  an  as- 
sembly of  Christians  in  a  particular  place :  that  is ;  a  local  Church. 
Thus  we  read  of:  — 

"  The  Church  which  was  at  Jerusalem."  * 

"  A  whole  year  they  assembled  themselves  with  the  Church  [in 
Antioch]  and  taught,"  etc.® 

In  like  manner  we  find  mention  of  the  Church  at  Cenchrea,*  that 
at  Corinth,"^  and  those  at  Ephesus,^  Laodicea,®  Thessalonica,^*^  Smyma,^^ 
Pergamos,^"^  Thyatira,^*  Sardis,^'*  and  Philadelphia.^^ 

We  find,  also,  the  same  use  of  the  word  in  its  plural  form  in  many 
passages ;  ^^  such  as,  "  the  churches  had  rest  throughout  all  Judea,  and 
Galilee,  and  Samaria,"  etc.,^^  "the  churches  of  Galatia,"^^  "the  churches 
of  Macedonia," ^^  "the  churches  of  Asia,"^  and,  indefinitely,  "the 
churches  of  the  Gentiles."  ^^ 

So,  again,  we  have  mention  made  of  "  the  Church,"  in  "  the  house  " 
of  PriscilTa  and  Aquila ;  ^  that  in  the  "  house  "  of  Nymphas  ;  ^^  and 
that  in  the  "  house  "  of  Philemon.^ 

There  is  no  record  of  the  use  of  this  word  knxXTjaia  by  Christ  him- 
self, except  upon  two  occasions.    One  was  when  he  said  to  Peter, 


lGal.i:13.  •  o  Rev.  iU:  14. 

a  Eph.  i :  22.  lo  1  Thesa.  i :  1 ;  2  Thess.  i :  1. 

8  Heb.  xii:  23.  n  Rev.  U:  8. 

4  Acts  viu:  1,  »:  22.  M  Rev.  ii:  12. 

6  Acts  xi :  26.  M  Rev.  ii :  18. 
8  Rom.  xvi :  1.                                                     1*  Rev.  iii :  1. 

7  ICor.i:  2;  2Cor.  i:  1.  16  Rev.  iii:  7. 

8  Rev.  ii :  1. 

w  A  local  Church  is  also  clearly  implied,  though  not  mentioned  by  name,  in  Samaria  (Acta 
viii:  5),  Damascus  (Acts  ix :  10-19),  Lydda  (Acts  ix :  32),  Saron(Acts  ix:  35),  Joppa  (Acts  ix : 
36-38),  Cesarea  (Acts  x :  44-48),  Antioch  in  Pisidia)  Acts  xiii :  14-60),  Iconium  (Acts  xiv :  1-4, 
21-23),  Lystra  (Acts  xvi:  2),  Derbe  (Acts  xvi:l,  2),  Philippi  (Acts  xvi:  12-40),  Berea  (Acts 
xvii ;  10-14),  Troas  (Acts  xx :  5-11),  Tyre  (Acts  xxi :  4),  Ptolemais  (Acts  xxi :  7),  Puteoli  (Acts 
xxviii :  13, 14),  Rome  (Acts  xxviii ;  14-16),  Colosse  (Coloss.  1 ;  2),  Hierapolis  (Coloss  iv :  13),  and 
Babylon  (1  Pet.  v  :  13). 

IT  Acts  ix :  31.  «  Rom.  xvi :  4. 

18  1  Cor.  xvi :  1,  Gal.  1:2.  «  Rom.  xvi :  3,  5, 1  Cor.  xvi :  19. 

19  2Cor.  viii:  1.  23Col.  iv:15. 
80  1  Cor.  xvi:  19.  8ipiul.T:2. 


WHENCE    C0NGREGATI0NALIS3I   IS  33 

"  upon  this  rock  will  I  build  my  Church  ;  "  ^  and  the  other  where  he 
instructed  his  disciples,  if  one  of  his  followers  should  have  cause  of 
complaint  against  another,  and  other  suitable  efforts  to  remove  the 
difficulty  should  fail,  to  "  tell  it  unto  the  Church,  and  if  he  neglect  to 
hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  an  heathen  man,  and  a  pub- 
lican." 2  On  the  first  of  these  occasions  he  clearly  referred  to  the 
Church  universal,  and  to  his  great  work  of  human  redemption.  On 
the  second,  he,  as  clearly,  could  not  have  referred  to  the  Church  uni- 
versal, and  the  only  natural  inference  is  that  —  looking  forward  to  the 
time  when  his  followers  on  earth  should  be  crystallized  into  local 
churches  —  he  framed  this  law  to  meet  their  necessities  in  those 
churches,  through  all  coming  time,  and  meant  for  them  to  take  the 
comfort  of  his  gracious  promise  :  "  where  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  ^ 

The  weight  of  New  Testament  authority,  then,  seems  clearly  to 
decide  that  the  ordinary  and  natural  meaning  of  the  word  iitxlf]aia 
is  that  of  a  local  body  of  believers  associated  for  the  enjoyment  of 
Christian  privileges,  and  the  performance  of  Christian  duty.^     If  this 


1  Matt,  xvi :  18.  2  Matt,  xriii:  17.  3  Matt,  xviii :  20. 

4  "  The  word  Etclesia  [in  the  New  Testament]  signifies,  either  the  whole  Christian  Church  — 
the  total  number  of  believers,  forming  one  body  under  one  head  ;  or  a  single  Church,  or  Chris- 
tian society." —  Neander.  '■'■  Planting  and  Training  of  the  Christian  Church.''''  Amer.  edit.  p. 
92,  note. 

"  The  term  '  Church '  signifies  a  number  of  belierers  habitually  assembling  for  the  worship  of 
God  in  one  place.  .  .  .  The  word  uniformly  bears  this  signification  when  applied  to  any  of  the 
separate  assemblies  of  Christ's  servants  on  Earth."  —  Davidson.  '■'■Ecclesiastical  Pol.  of  New 
Test.''  pp.  59,  60. 

"  These  things  being  so  plainly,  positively,  and  frequently  asserted  in  the  Scripture,  it  cannot 
be  questionable  unto  any  impartial  mind  but  that  particular  churches  or  congregations  are  of 
divine  institution,  and  consequently  that  unto  them  the  whole  power  and  privilege  of  the 
Church  doth  belong ;  for  if  they  do  not  so,  whatever  they  are,  churches  they  are  not."  —  John 
Owen.  '■''Inquiry  into  the  original^  etc.,  of  Evangelical  Churches.'''  Works.  (Edit.  1851)  Vol.  xv. 
p.  277. 

"  Its  u^e  [the  word  Ecclesia]  as  signifying  the  ministers  of  religion  in  distinction  from  the  peo- 
ple, or  as  embracing  all  the  persons  professing  Christianity  in  a  province  or  nation,  is  unknown 
in  the  sacred  Scriptures.  We  read  in  the  New  Testament  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem,  of  the 
Church  in  the  house  of  Priscilla  and  Aquila,  and  of  the  churches  in  Judcea  and  the  churches  in 
Gatatia ;  but  we  meet  with  no  such  phrase  as  the  Church  of  Judaea,  or  the  Church  of  Galatia. 
This  application  of  the  term  was  reserved  until  the  time  when  Christianity  became  established 
as  a  '■  part  and  parcel '  of  the  kingdoms  of  this  world."  —  Vaughan.  "  Causes  of  the  Corruption 
of  Christianity."  p.  403. 

"•  The  Greek  word  Ecclesia,  which  the  New  Testament,  after  the  Septuagint,  employs,  and 
which  we  translate.  Church,  was  adopted  by  the  Latins,  who  derived  sacred  terms,  as  well  as 
ideas,  from  the  Greeks.    To  them  the  word  being  in  familiar  use,  was  known  to  signify  a  con- 

d 


34  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

be  so,  then  any  company  of  believers  so  associated,  have  a  right  to 
hold  themselves  to  be  an  tnHlr^aia  —  a  true  Church  of  Christ,  in  the 
place  of  thfeir  abode. 

(2.)  This  view  is  confirmed  and  established  hy  the  obvious  consid- 
eration that  the  precepts  enjoined  upon  the  primitive  churches,  and  the 
functions  assigned  to  them  by  Christ  and  his  apostles,  were  such  as 
implied,  and  could  only  consist  with,  the  action  of  independent  local 
bodies. 

The  Scriptural  exhortations  to  Christian  fidelity,  and  usefulness, 
imply  such  free  opportunities  for  labor,  as  local  and  independent 
churches  only  can  furnish.  The  responsibilities  that  are  set  forth,  are 
such  as  could  rightly  rest  only  on  the  members  of  such  churches. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  method  of  discipHne  for  offenders  which 
our  Saviour  prescribed  would  be  both  unnatural  and  absurd,  if  at- 
tempted to  be  carried  out  in  any  Church  having  any  form  other  than 
that  of  a  local  associate  body  of  believers ;  while  it  is  plain  that,  in 
such  a  body,  it  becomes  most  sensible,  suitable,  and  sufficient. 

So  also  of  the  elective  franchise.  When  we  come,  further  on,  to 
consider  the  fact  that  the  Divinely  ordained  method  of  Church  ac- 
tion is  for  the  whole  brotherhood  to  cast  their  votes  for  Church  officers, 
and  in  regard  to  the  management  of  all  Church  affairs,  we  shall  be 
able  to  set  in  a  strong  light  the  unscripturalness  of  any  theory  of  the 
Christian  Church,  which  does  not  involve  the  direct  and  responsible 
participation  of  all  of  the  brotherhood  in  its  affairs. 

We  conclude,  then,  that  any  company  of  professing  Christians,  as- 
sociated by  voluntary  covenant,  on  Gospel  principles,  for  Christian 
work  and  worship,  is  thereby  constituted  a  true  Church  of  Christ. 

II.   Such  a  Church  —  as  a  rule  —  should  include  only 

THOSE  who  can  CONVENIENTLY  WORSHIP  AND  LABOR  TOGETHER, 
AND    WATCH    OVER   EACH    OTHER.^ 


gregation.  This  idea  pervades  all  the  earliest  Ecclesiastical  writings,  though  translations  have 
frequently  misled  their  readers."  —  Bennett.   "  Tfieology  of  the  Early  Church.'^  p.  133. 

Irenaeus,  as  late  as  the  fourth  quarter  of  the  second  century  (Contra  Haereses,  Lib.  2,  Cap. 
xxxi.  Sec.  2),  uses  the  word  in  this  sense;  speaking  of  the  Church  *«  Kara  rdTrov,"  or,  as  the 
Latin  translation  gives  the  phrase,  "ea,  quae  est  in  quoquo  loco." —  Opera.  {Massuet's  Edi- 
tion, A.  D.  1734.)    Vol.  i.  p.  164. 

1  "  We,  on  the  contrary,  so  judge,  that  no  particular  Church  under  the  New  Testament,  ought 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  35 

This  accords  with  what  we  shall  find  to  be  one  prominent  element 
in  the  manifestation  of  the  divine  idea  of  the  constitution  of  the 
Church  on  earth,  namely,  that  of  an  organization  which  shall 
place  each  individual  believer  in  direct  contact,  on  the  one  hand 
(in  the  way  of  responsibility),  with  his  ascended  Lord,  and  on  the 
other  (in  the  way  of  labor),  with  that  practical  every-day  work 
for  the  salvation  of  men  and  the  glory  of  God,  which  the  Church 
must  perform  in  order  to  be  *  the  salt  of  the  earth,'  and  *  the  pillar 


to  consist  of  more  members  than  can  meet  together  in  one  place." — John  Robinson.  Works. 
Vol.  ill.  p.  12. 

"The  Church  must  not  exceed  the  quantity  and  compass  of  one  congregation.  For  the 
Church  must  meet  ordinarily  together  with  their  ofl&cers,"  etc.  —  John  Davenport.  '-'■Power  of 
Cong.  Churches  vindicated.''''  p.  56. 

"  Such  cohabitation  is  required,  which  is  necessary  for  the  dispensation  of  God's  ordinances, 
the  administration  of  Church  censures,  for  otherwise,  the  end  of  the  covenant  would  be  made 
frustrate,  and  the  benefit  of  the  whole  prejudiced  "  —  Hooker^s  ^'■Survey."  p.  49. 

"  Neque  est  ecclesia  haec  a  Deo  instituta  proprie  Nationalis,  Provincialis  aut  Dioecesana  (quae 
formae  fuerunt  ab  hominibus  introductae  ad  exemplar  civilis  regiminis,  praesertim  Romani) 
Bed  Parochialis,  vel  unius  congregationis,  cujus  membra  inter  se  combinantur,  et  ordinarie  con- 
veniunt  uno  in  loco  ad  publicum  religionis  exercitium."  —  Amesius.  Medull.  Theol.  Cap. 
xxxix.  Sec.  22. 

"  To  such  a  body  " — a  particular  Church  —  "  how  many  members  may  be  added,  is  not  lim- 
ited expressly  in  the  word,  onely  it  is  provided  in  the  word,  that  they  be  no  more  than  that  all 
may  meet  in  one  congregation,  that  all  may  heare,  and  all  may  be  edified.  For  the  Apostle  so 
describeth  the  whole  Church  as  meeting  in  one  place.  1  Cor  xiv  :  23.  But  if  all  cannot  heare, 
all  cannot  be  edified.  Besides  the  Apostle  rcquireth,  that  when  the  Church  meeteth  together 
for  the  celebrating  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  they  shall  tarry  one  for  another,  1  Cor.  xi :  33,  which 
argueth  the  Church  indued  with  onely  ordinary  officers,  should  consist  of  no  greater  number 
then  that  all  might  partake  together  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  one  congregation,  and  therefore 
such  Parishes  as  consist  of  15,000,  though  they  were  all  fit  materialls  for  Church  fellowship, 
yet  ought  to  be  divided  into  many  churches,  as  too  large  for  one.  When  the  hive  is  too  full, 
bees  swarme  into  a  new  hive  ;  so  should  such  excessive  numbers  of  Christians  issue  forth  into 
more  churches.  Whence  it  appeareth  to  be  an  error,  to  say  there  is  no  Umitation  or  distinc- 
tion of  Parishes,  meaning  of  churches  [jure  divino),  for  though  a  precise  quotient,  a  number 
of  hundreds  and  thousands  be  not  limited  to  every  Church,  yet  such  a  number  is  limited  as 
falleth  not  below  seven,  nor  riseth  above  the  bulke  of  one  congregation,  and  such  a  congregation 
wherein  all  may  meete,  and  ail  m.ay  heare,  and  all  may  partake,  and  all  may  be  edified  together.''^ 
— John  Cotton.   ^^Way  of  the  Churches."  pp.  53,  54. 

"  Wherefore,  no  society  that  doth  not  congregate,  the  whole  body  whereof  doth  not  meet 
together,  to  act  its  powers  and  duties,  is  a  Church,  or  may  be  so  called,  whatever  sort  of  body 
or  corporation  it  may  be."  — John  Owen.    ''■Inquiry,"  etc.    Works.  Vol.  xv.  p.  270. 

"I  appeal  to  all  authentic  Greek  writers  —  Thucydides,  Demosthenes,  Plato,  Aristotle,  So- 
crates, etc.,  —  out  of  whom  plentiful  allegations  may  be  brought,  all  of  them  showing  that  this 
word  Ecclesia  did  ever  signify  only  one  assembly,  and  never  a  dispersed  multitude,  holding 
many  ordinary  set  meetings  in  remote  places,  as  diocesan  and  larger  churches  do.  Now  accord- 
ing to  these,  and  other  Greeks,  living  'n  the  Apostle's  days,  do  the  Apostles  speak."  —  Henry 
Jacob's  ^'■Attestation."  (A.  D.  1G13.)  p.  209. 

"  The  matter  of  the  Church,  in  respect  of  its  quantity,  ought  not  to  be  of  greater  number 
than  may  ordinarily  meet  together  conveniently  in  one  place,  nor  ordinarily  fewer  than  may 
conveniently  carry  on  Church  work."  —  Cambridge  Platform.  Chap.  iii.  Sect.  4. 


36  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

and  ground  of  the  truth.*  Unless  each  Christian  is  a  member  of  a 
Church  which  naturally  draws  him  into  direct  connection  with  all  its 
services,  so  as  to  lay  upon  him  his  share  of  accountableness  to  the 
Great  Head  for  every  vote  that  is  taken,  and  of  participation  in  every 
labor  that  is  attempted ;  that  idea  cannot  be  reached,  and  that  highest 
degree  of  development  of  the  Christian  life,  which  is  inseparable  from 
it,  cannot  be  realized. 

We  have  seen  that  this  is  the  most  prominent  suggestion  of  the 
term  tHxXr^aia  {ekklesia).  In  more  than  sixty  instances  this  word  is 
used  in  the  New  Testament  under  circumstances  which  naturally  im- 
ply a  single  congregation  of  behevers. 

Moreover,  as  many  as  thiriy-Jive  different  churches  are  —  directly 
or  indirectly  —  referred  to  by  name  in  the  New  Testament,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  general  mention  of  churches  '  throughout  all  Judea,  and 
Galilee,  and  Samaria/  ^ '  through  Syria,  and  Cilicia,'  ^  the  '  churches 
of  Asia,'  ^  etc.  When  we  consider  how  soon  after  Christian  churches 
began  to  be  formed  at  all,  this  language  w^as  used,  we  are  naturally 
led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  apostles  and  their  colaborers  were  ac- 
customed to  organize  a  Church  in  every  place  where  they  found  be- 
lievers enough  to  associate  themselves  together  for  that  purpose. 
This  inference  gains  force  when  we  consider  that  some  of  these 
churches  were  undoubtedly  sufficiently  near  each  other  to  have  readily 
permitted  their  fusion  into  one,  if  it  had  not  been  thought  essential  to 
include  in  a  single  Church  no  more  believers  than  could  regularly  and 
conveniently  unite  together  in  the  enjoyment  of  its  privileges  and  the 
performance  of  its  duties.  For  example,  Cenchrea  was  the  port  and 
suburb  of  Corinth,  yet  there  were  churches  at  both  places.  Hiera- 
polis  was  visible  from  the  theatre  of  Laodicea,  and  Colosse  was  near 
—  some  think  directly  between  —  them ;  *  while  Nymphas  ^  appears 
to  have  lived  in,  or  near,  Laodicea,  and  it  is  almost  certain  that  Phil- 
emon was  a  resident  of  Colosse.^  So  that  there  is  the  strongest  prob- 
ability that  these  five  churches  —  at  Hierapolis,  Laodicea,  Colosse, 
and  those  in  the  houses  of  Nymphas  and  Philemon —  were  all  situated 
within  a  very  few  miles,  probably  within  eye-shot,  of  each  other ; 


1  Acts  ix :  31.  2  Acts  xv :  40,  41.  3  1  Cor.  xvi :  19. 

4  See  Dr.  William  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible.    Art.  "■' Hierapolis P 
6  Coloss.  iv :  15. 

6  Philem.  v :  10 ;  Coloss.  iv  :  9.    Onesimus  was  a  Colossian,  and  the  obvious  presumption  is 
that  they  belonged  to  the  same  place. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM  18.  37 

near  enough,  at  least,  to  demonstrate,  by  the  fact  of  their  individual 
existence,  that  it  was  the  aim  of  the  Apostles  to  include  within  a 
given  Church  only  those  who  could  conveniently  and  regularly  as- 
semble together  to  share  its  duties. 

We  are,  of  course,  aware  that  it  has  been  objected  to  this  view  that 
the  churches  at  Jerusalem,  Antioch,  Ephesus  and  Corinth  must  have 
been  too  large  to  be  gathered  into  any  one  room.  But,  although 
many  thousands  of  Jews  believed  at  Jerusalem,  a  very  large  propor- 
tion of  them  were  converted  at  the  time  of  the  Pentecost,  which  as- 
sembled the  representatives  of  the  entire  nation  in  the  metropolis,  so 
that  we  are  without  information  as  to  the  number  of  residents  of  Je- 
rusalem who  became  Christians,  while  we  are  expressly  told  that  the 
multitude  that  heard  were  *  out  of  every  nation  under  heaven,'  ^  — 

*  Parthians,  and  Medes,  and  Elamites,  and  the  dwellers  in  Mesopota- 
mia, and  in  Judea,  and  Cappedocia,  in  Pontus  and  Asia,  Phrygia, 
and  Pamphyha,  in  Egypt,  and  in  the  parts  of  Lybia  about  Cyrene, 
and  strangers  of  Rome,  Jews  and  proselytes,  Cretes  and  Arabians ; '  ^ 
and  it  is  settled  by  Inspiration  that  the  resident  Church  at  Jerusalem 
did  meet  'all  with  one  accord  in  Solomon's  porch,' ^  and  did  act 
Congregationally  together ;  —  in  the  choice  of  deacons,  in  hearing 
delegates  from  Antioch,  and  sending  '  chosen  men  '  thither.  So  we 
find  that  Saul  and  Barnabas  *  assembled  themselves  with  the 
Church'*  at  Antioch  during  *a  whole  year,*  and  that  when  Saul 
and  Barnabas  returned  from  the  missionary  journey  on  which  they 
had  been  sent  from  Antioch,  '  they  gathered  the  Church  together,'  ^ 
and  '  rehearsed  all  that  God  had  done  with  them.'  And,  at  a  later 
period,  when  the  delegation  from  Jerusalem  went  down  to  Antioch, 

*  they  gathered  the  multitude '  ®  of  the  Antiochean  Church  '  to- 
gether,'  before    they   *  delivered   the    Epistle.'"^      With   regard   to 


1  Acts  ii :  5.  3  Acts  v ;  12.  6  Acts  xiv :  27. 

2  Acts  ii :  10.  *  Acts  xi :  26.  «  Acts  xv :  30. 

1  "  Antioch,  the  capital  of  Syria,  where  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  attracting  by  their  numbers  the 
public  attention,  were  first  called  Christians,  is  shown  by  the  letters  of  Ignatius,  to  have  had,  in 
the  second  century,  but  one  congregation  of  the  faithful.  It  was  still  one  in  the  days  of  Theo- 
philus.  When  its  bishop,  Paul  of  Samoeata,  was,  towards  the  end  of  the  second  century,  de- 
posed, he  refused  to  resign  the  churches'  house  —  not  houses.  Carthage  was  a  kind  of  African 
Rome,  and  enjoyed  the  services  of  the  most  eminent  men ;  but  both  Tertullian  and  Cyprian 
speak  of  only  one  congregation,  which  chose  its  bishop,  Cyprian,  by  public  acclamation,  in  the 
third  century.  Alexandria,  an  immense  city,  the  seat  of  what  may  be  called  the  first  Christian 
university,  contained,  in  Origen's  time,  but  one  congregation  It  was  not  till  the  end  of  the 
third  century  that  we  read  of  Christians  in  the  extreme  suburbs  of  a  city  in  Egypt,  having  sep- 


38  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Ephesus,  we  find  no  hint  in  Paul's  Epistle  to  that  Church  that  it  dif- 
fered, in  this  respect,  from  other  churches,  but  many  precepts  which 
would  be  most  natural  if  it  did  not  so  differ ;  and,  as  to  the  Church  at 
Corinth,  it  is  clear  that  Paul  twice  recognizes  it  as  one  homogeneous 
body  when  he  says :  —  "  when  ye  come  together,  therefore,  into  one 
place,"  etc.,^  and  "  if,  therefore,  the  whole  Church  be  come  together 
into  one  place,'*  etc.^ 

When  we  add  to  these  considerations  the  remembrance  of  the  fact 
that  it  would  be  always  inconvenient  and  unnatural,  and  often  impos- 
sible, to  carry  into  effect  Gospel  discipline  in  any  Church,  or  to  elect 
its  officers  and  carry  on  its  government  by  the  action  of  the  whole 
body,  unless  it  is  of  that  size  that  all  of  its  members  can  meet  to  dis- 
cuss its  affairs  and  decide  upon  them ;  we  have  sufficient  evidence 
that  the  Scriptural  theory  of  a  Church  is  of  one  composed  only  of 
so  many  members  as  can  conveniently  act  together  in  the  perform- 
ance of  its  functions. 

III.  Every  member  of  such  a  Church  has  equal  essen- 
tial RIGHTS,  powers,  AND  PRIVILEGES,  WITH  EVERY  OTHER 
(except  so  far  as  THE  NeW  TESTAMENT  AND  COMMON  SENSE 
MAKE  SOME  SPECIAL  ABRIDGMENT  IN  THE  CASE  OF  FEMALE  AND 
YOUTHFUL  members)  ;  AND  THE  MEMBERSHIP  TOGETHER,  BY  MA- 
JORITY VOTE,  HAVE  THE  RIGHT  AND  DUTY  OF  CHOOSING  ALL 
NECESSARY  OFFICERS,  OF  ADMITTING,  DISMISSING,  AND  DISCIPLIN- 
ING THEIR  OWN  MEMBERS,  AND  OF  TRANSACTING  ALL  OTHER 
APPROPRIATE   BUSINESS    OF   A    CHRISTIAN    ChURCH. 

Here  are  two  points :  — 

1.  Ever}'  member  of  a  Congregational  Church  has  equal  essential 
rights,  powers,  and  privileges  with  every  other  member. 

2.  The  membership,  by  majority  vote,  have  the  right  and  duty  of 
choosing  all  necessary  officers,  admitting,  dismissing,  and  disciplining 
members,  and  transacting  all  other  appropriate  business  of  a  Chris- 
tian Church. 

1.   Every  member  of  a  Congregational  Church  has  equal  essential 

arate  places,  not  called  churches,  but  arvvayoiyaiy  synagogues ;  and  not  for  meetings  on  the 
Lord's  day,  but  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  when  they  convened  for  prayer,  [Eusebius,  lib. 
vii.  c.  90]  or  held  prayer-meetings.  —  Bennett.   "  Theology  of  the  Early  Chr.  Church.''''  p.  139. 

1  1  Cor.  xi :  20- 

a  1  Cor.  xiv :  28. 


WHENCE   CONGKEGATIONALISM   IS.  89 

rights,  powers,  and  privileges  with  every  other  member.  This  is  the 
dictate  of  reason  in  regard  to  the  membership  of  a  body  constituted 
as  the  Church  is.  Its  members — however  diverse  in  natural  powers, 
or  in  point  of  intellectual  attainments,  or  social  position  —  all  come 
into  it  upon  the  same  conditions,  make  the  same  promises,  and  seek 
the  same  ends.  All  stand  upon  an  equality  before  God  as  to  their 
need  of  salvation,  as  to  the  w^ay  of  salvation,  and  as  to  the  duties  of 
salvation.  The  king  and  the  beggar  must  alike  '  repent  and  be  con- 
verted* before  they  can  offer  themselves  as  suitable  candidates  for 
admission  to  the  Church  —  both  passing  into  it  through  the  same 
'  strait  gate.*  And,  when  entered,  both  must  depend  with  the  same 
humility  upon  the  same  grace,  for  daily  sustenance  in  the  divine  life. 
Of  the  two,  indeed,  the  king  will  be  apt  to  need  most  grace,  and  be  in 
greatest  danger  of  falling,  because  of  the  sorer  temptations  which,  from 
his  position,  will  be  likely  to  *  beset  him  behind  and  before.'  So  that 
there  will  be  nothing  in  the  fact  that,  in  one  aspect  of  his  life,  he  is  a 
king,  to  give  him  any  preeminence  in  the  Church  over  his  brother, 
who,  in  one  aspect  of  his  life,  is  a  beggar.  They  stand  before  Grod 
together  there  as  sinful  men  for  whom  Christ  died,  to  be  compara- 
tively estimated  not  by  their  worldly  station,  but  *  according  as  God 
hath  dealt  to  every  man  the  measure  of  faith.'  And  if  this  will  be 
true  of  them,  it  will  be  true  of  all. 

The  same  conclusion  follows  from  the  voluntary,  associate,  charac- 
ter of  the  Church,  considered  as  an  organization.  It  is  expressly 
confederated  on  the  basis  of  equality  among  its  members ;  and  on 
that  basis  every  member  —  as  the  rule  —  must  necessarily  have  the 
same  rights,  powers,  and  privileges  as  every  other. 

This  view  the  Scriptures  confirm.  They  nowhere  hint  any  rea- 
son for,  or  Divine  intention  of,  any  inequality  of  privilege  in  the 
Church.  But  they  expressly  state  that  the  *  multitude '  ^  was  accus- 
tomed to  gather  together  for  action  on  business  requiring  action,  and 
that  it  was  when  it  'seemed  good'^  to  'the  whole  Church' — be- 
ing '  assembled  with  one  accord '  —  that  action  followed. 

The  only  exception  to  this  is  the  express  curtailment,  by  Paul,  of 
some  portion  of  the  prerogatives  of  females ;  with  such  practical  modi- 
fication as  good  sense  may  suggest  in  the  case  of  very  young  and  in- 

1  Acts  vi:  6,  xv:  12,  xxi:  22.  2  jj^,  ^y  •  25. 


40  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

experienced  members  —  which  exceptions  will  be  subsequently  con- 
sidered in  another  connection.^ 

2.  The  memhership,  by  majority  vote,  have  the  right  and  duty  of 
choosing  all  necessary  officers,  of  admitting,  disciplining,  and  dismis- 
sing members,  and  transacting  all  other  appropriate  business  of  a 
Christian  Church.^ 

This  follows  inevitably  from  the  very  theory  and  constitution  of 
the  body,  and  is  abundantly  established  by  Scriptural  authority. 

(1.)  The  right  and  duty  to  choose  all  necessary  officers.  The  right 
of  an  equal  voice  in  the  election  of  the  officers  of  the  body,  is  one  of 
the  inherent  rights  of  the  membership  of  every  such  voluntary  asso- 
ciation as  —  in  one  aspect  of  it  —  every  Church  is.  And  if  we  turn 
to  the  New  Testament,  we  find  that  the  membership  of  the  primitive 

1  See  Chap.  iii. 

2  "  Christ  hath  giren  this  power  to  receive  in,  or  cut  off,  any  member,  to  the  whole  body  to- 
gether of  every  Christian  eongregation,  and  not  to  any  one  member  apart,  or  to  more  mem- 
bers," etc. —  Confession  of  Low  County  Exiles.    Hanbury,  Vol  i.  p.  95. 

"  Every  particular  society  of  visible  professors  agreeing  to  walk  together  in  the  faith  and  order 
of  the  Gospel,  is  a  complete  Church,  and  has  full  power  within  itself  to  elect  and  ordain  all 
Church  officers,  to  exclude  all  offenders,  and  to  do  all  other  acts  relating  to  the  edification  and 
well-being  of  the  Church." — Savoy  Confession.   Need,  Vol.  ii.  p.  178. 

"  Nor  may  any  person  be  added  to  the  Church  as  a  private  member,  but  by  the  consent  of 
the  Church,"  etc.   Ibid.  p.  179, 

Cambridge  Platform  says  Church  power  is  in  the  hands  of  the  "  brethren  formally  and  im- 
mediately from  Christ."    Chap.  v.  Sect.  2. 

See,  also,  an  eloquent  passage  —  too  extended  to  be  quoted  here — in  John  Robinson's  an- 
swer to  Bernard.    Works,  Vol.  ii.  pp.  140,  141. 

"  The  subordinate  ordinary  power  of  acting  Church  affairs,  in  the  order  appointed  by  Jesus 
Christ,  for  attainment  of  the  ends  of  Church  communion,  is  given  by  Christ  to  a  visible  con- 
gregation of  confederate  believers,  as  the  first  and  proper  subject  of  it." — John  Davenport, 
^^Power  of  Congregational  Churches,''^  etc.   p.  90. 

"  Wee  do  not  carry  on  matters,  either  by  the  overruling  power  of  the  Presbytery,  or  by  the 
consent  of  the  major  part  of  the  Church,  but  by  the  generall  and  joynt  consent  of  all 
the  members  of  the  Church  ;  for  we  read  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  Primitive  Church 
(which  is  a  pattern  for  succeeding  ages)  carried  all  their  administrations,  oixoBvixafiov,  that 
is,  with  one  accord,  Acts  ii  :  46,  as  becometh  the  Church  of  God  ;  which  ought  to  be  of  one 
heart,  and  one  soul,  of  one  mind,  and  one  judgement,  and  all  to  speak  the  same  thing.  Acts 
iv  :  32  ;  1  Cor  i  :  10  ;  Phil,  ii :  2,  3."  John  Cotton's  "  Way  of  the  Churches.'''  p.  94. 

"  A  particular  Church  or  congregation  of  saints,  professing  the  faith,  taken  indefinitely  for 
any  Church  (one  as  well  as  another),  is  the  first  subject  of  all  the  Church  offices,  with  all  their 
spirituall  gifts  and  power,  which  Christ  hath  given  to  be  executed  amongst  them,"  etc.  John 
Cotton's  '■'■Keyes  of  the  Kingdom,''  etc.  p.  67. 

"  The  people,  or  fraternity,  under  the  gospel,  are  the  first  subject  of  power." — John  Wise. 
♦'  Vindication  of  the  Government  of  New  England  Churches.''  (Ed.  1772.)  p.  44. 

*'  The  administrative  power  in  each  Church  is  the  voice  of  its  majority,  from  which  there  is 
no  appeal,  except  by  the  consent  of  both  parties,  and  even  then  simply  in  the  spirit  of  arbitra- 
tion." —  Vaughan's  "  Congregationalism  ;  or  the  Polity  of  Independent  Churches  viewed  in  rela- 
tion to  the  state  and  tendencies  of  Modern  Society ."  London.   1842.   2d  Edit.   p.  3. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  41 

churches  held  and  exercised  this  right.  The  Church  at  Jerusalem 
chose  a  twelfth  apostle  to  be  the  successor  of  Judas ;  ^  and  this  was 
done  by  vote  of  the  whole  brotherhood,  as  we  have  before  shown.^ 
In  like  manner  we  have  seen  that  the  brotherhood  chose  the  seven 
deacons  ;*  their  presbyters  or  pastors  j*  and  the  messengers  to  Antioch.^ 
In  fact  there  is  no  record  in  the  New  Testament  of  any  other  method 
of  electing  Church  officers  than  by  vote  of  the  whole  brotherhood,  nor 
do  we  know  of  any  precept,  or  even  hint,  looking  in  any  other  direction. 
(2.)  The  right  to  admit  and  dismiss  members.  Somebody,  and 
somebody  who  has  inteUigence,  time,  and  opportunity,  must  have  this 
right,  or  that  fundamental  principle  that  they  only  are  entitled  to 
membership  who  give  credible  evidence  of  piety,  could  not  be  main- 
tained; nor  could  transfers  be  made  from  one  Church  to  another. 
And  froni  the  democratic  form  of  the  Church,  this  power  would  natu- 
rally inhere  in  the  entire  membership.  Furthermore,  the  power  of 
choosing  officers,  which  are  the  greater;  involves  and  includes  the 
power  of  choosing  private  members  which  are  the  less.  It  is  clear, 
moreover,  that  it  was  not  enough  ^  for  Barnabas  to  be  satisfied  of 
Paul's  worthiness ;  but  the  fears  of  *  the  brethren '  had  to  be  allayed 
concerning  him,  before  he  could  enter  into  fellowship  with  them. 
And,  in  the  presence  of  the  strong  presumption  in  favor  of  the  resi- 
dence of  this  power  of  admission  in  the  hands  of  the  membership,  and 
the  absence  of  all  hint  of  its  residence  elsewhere,  we  think  that  the 
matter  is  made  Scripturally  clear  by  the  fact  —  which  will  be  pres- 
ently set  forth  —  that  the  power  of  casting  out  of  the  Church  is  ex- 
pressly lodged  in  the  body  of  covenanted  beUevers.  It  is  a  familiar, 
and  a  sound  maxim  —  ejusdem  est  potesiatis  aperire  et  claudere,  insti- 
tuere  et  destituere  ;'  and  its  application  in  this  case  would  settle  the 
question  that  as  the  membership  are  expressly  commanded  to  act  in 
excision,  with  them  must  lie  the  power  of  admission,  as  well. 
*  (3.)  The  right  to  discipline  and  exclude  members.  Here  the  Scrip- 
ture is  so  explicit,  and  even  minute  in  its  directions,  that  there  is 
room  for  no  reasonable  doubt  as  to  the  divine  intention.  As  we  have 
already  seen,^  Christ  most  expressly  committed  the  duty  of  discipline 
in  every  Church  to  its  members,  and  made  their  decision  final.^   And 

1  Acts  i :  15-26.  8  See  page  15.  5  See  page  19. 

2  See  page  14  4  See  page  15.  6  Acts  ix :  26-30. 

7  "  The  same  power  that  can  open,  can  shut ;  that  can  set  up,  can  set  down." 

8  See  page  9.  >  »  1  Cor,  v  :  13 :  2  Cor.  ii :  6. 


42  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

we  iSnd  many  passages  which  were  evidently  intended  to  stimulate 
the  membership  to  the  performance  of  this  disagreeable  and  most 
solemn  duty,  in  some  of  its  hghter  or  severer  aspects.  Such  is  the 
following ;  —  "  Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  mark  them  which  cause 
divisions  and  offences,  contrary  to  the  doctrine  which  ye  have  learned, 
and  avoid  them."^  So  the  passage,^  directing  the  Corinthian  brethren 
not  to  *  company '  with  certain  offenders,  saying  "  do  not  ye  judge 
them  that  are  within,"  (that  is,  in  the  Church),  and  closing  "  there- 
fore put  away  from  among  yourselves  that  wicked  person,"  is  in  point. 
So  is  that,^  beginning  "  now  we  command  you,  brethren,  in  the  name 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  ye  withdraw  yourselves  from  every 
brother  that  walketh  disorderly,"  etc.,  and  that  in  the  Epistle  to 
Titus  ;^ — "  A  man  that  is  an  heretic,  after  the  first  and  second  admo- 
nition, reject,"  etc.  It  will  not  be  denied  that  all  these  precepts  are 
addressed  to  '  the  brethren '  of  the  churches  —  and  not  to  any  Bishop, 
or  other  Church  officer,  nor  to  any  Session,  Presbytery,  or  Other 
Church  court  —  and  the  conclusion  becomes  inevitable,  that  the 
whole  right  and  duty  of  that  form  of  Church  action  which  is  con- 
templated by  and  provided  for  in  them,  is  solely  with  '  the  brethren.' 
Paul — as  if  to  remove  any  lingering  doubt  that  the  responsibility  was 
upon  the  membership,  and  upon  them  all,  —  distinctly  says,^  it  must 
be,  when  they  "  are  gathered  together,''  that  they  "  deliver  such  a  one 
unto  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  the  flesh,  that  the  Spirit  may  be 
saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  This,  Paul  elsewhere  ^  calls 
"  a  punishment  inflicted  [yrto  xwv  nle.i6vmv  —  hupo  ton  pleionori]  of 
the  many,"  or,  as  we  familiarly  say,  '  by  the  crowd.'  —  "  Thus,"  says 
John  Davenport,'^  upon  this  passage,  "  he  establisheth  their  power  to 
bind,  and  teacheth  them  how  to  use  it ;  and,  in  like  manner,  he  ex- 
horteth  them,  upon  the  man's  repentance,  to  turn  the  key,  and  to 
open  the  door  of  Christian  liberties  to  him,  and  to  loose  him  from  the 
former  censure,  by  forgiving  him,  in  a  legal,  or  judicial  sense."  '^ 

Thus  Christ's  minute  commands,  with  Apostolic  precepts,  and  the 
obvious  practice  of  the  Primitive  churches,  unite  to  put  beyond  a 
doubt  the  fact  that  the  power  of  *  the  keys '  in  disciphne  —  to  its  last 
results  —  is  vested  in  the  brotherhood  of  the  Church. 


1  Rom.  xvi :  17.  3  2  Thess.  iii :  6.  ^  1  Cor.  t  :  1-6. 

2  1  Cor.  V  :  9-13.  *  Titus  Ui :  10.  6  2  Cor.  ii :  6. 
7  "  Power  of  Congregational  Churches  asserted  and  vindicated.^''  p.  101. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.         Xl^Z  fP^D  tjlJ^ 

(4.)  The  right  to  transact  all  other  appropriate  business  of  a 
Christian  Church.  This  right  to  transact  all  business  that  is  inci- 
dental to  the  functions  of  Church  life  —  being  subordinate  to  those 
rights  which  are  vital  to  that  life  —  must  follow  from  them.  If  the 
membership  are  empowered  to  admit,  dismiss  and  discipline  their 
own  members,  and  to  elect  their  officers,  they  must  have  the  lesser 
right  to  do  all  other  needful  things.  And  the  fact  of  the  actual  ex- 
ercise of  such  subordinate  rights  by  the  membership,  is  Scripturally 
shown  by  cases  already  referred  to,^  where  the  entire  body  was  con- 
sulted by  the  Apostles  themselves,  in  cases  of  doubt  and  difficulty.^ 

IV.  Every  such  Church  is  independent  of  any  outvtard 

JURISDICTION  OR  CONTROL  WHETHER  FROM  POPES,  PATRI- 
ARCHS,  Archbishops,    Bishops,   or   others   assuming  to   be 

VICEGERENTS  OF  ChRIST  ;   FROM  ANY  ASSEMBLIES,  SyNODS,  PrES- 

BYTERiEs,  Conventions,  Conferences,  Associations  or  Coun- 
cils,  assuming  to   speak  in  the   name   of  *the   Church'; 

OR     from     other      churches BEING    ANSWERABLE     DIRECTLY 

AND  ONLY  TO  ChRIST  ITS  HEAD  :  AND  EVERY  SUCH  ChURCH  IS 
ON  A  LEVEL  OF  INHERENT  GENUINENESS,  DIGNITY,  AND  AUTHOR- 
ITY   WITH    EVERY    OTHER    ChURCH    ON    EARTH.^ 


1  See  pages  18, 19.  2  Acts  xi :  1-18,  xv :  4-31,  etc, 

3  "  Although  all  the  churches  were,  in  this  first  stage  of  Christianity,  united  together  in  one 
common  bond  of  faith  and  love,  and  were,  in  every  respect,  ready  to  promote  the  interest  and 
Vrelfare  of  each  other  by  a  reciprocal  interchange  of  good  offices,  yet,  with  regard  to  government 
and  internal  economy,  every  individual  Church  considered  itself  as  an  independent  com- 
munity, none  of  them  ever  looking  beyond  the  circle  of  its  own  members  for  assistance,  or 
recognizing  any  sort  of  external  influence  or  authority.  Neither  in  the  New  Testament,  nor  in 
any  ancient  document  whatever,  do  we  find  any  thing  recorded  from  which  it  might  be  inferred 
that  any  of  the  minor  churches  were  at  all  dependent  on,  or  looked  up  for  direction  to,  those 
of  greater  magnitude  or  consequence."  —  Mosheim.   De  Rebus  Christ.  Scpx  i.  Sec.  48. 

"  Christus  vero  sic  instituit  Ecclesiam,  ut  a  sese  semper  pendeat,  tanquam  a  capite." — Ame- 
sius.    Medull.  Theol.   Lib.  i.  Cap.  xxxii.  Sec.  25. 

"  Christ  has  not  subjected  any  Church  to  any  other  superior  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  than 
that  which  is  within  itself."  —  Bradshaw''s  ^'English  Puritanism.^''  Chap.  ii.  Art.  4. 

"  The  Lord  Jesus  is  the  king  of  his  Church  alone,  upon  whose  shoulders  the  government  is, 
and  unto  whom  all  power  is  given  in  heaven  and  earth."  —  John  Robinson.  Works.  Vol.  ii. 
p.  140. 

"  The  truth  is,  a  particular  congregation  (Church)  is  the  highest  tribunall.  .  .  .  If  difficulties 
arise  .  .  .  the  counsell  of  other  churches  should  be  sought  to  clear  the  truth,  but  the  power 
.  .  .  rests  still  in  the  congregation,  where  Christ  placed  it." — Hooker^s  '■'Survey.''''  Part  iv.  p.  19. 

"  Every  particular  ordinary  congregation  of  faithful  people  ...  is  a  true  or  proper  visible 
Church,  jure  divino,  —  by  right  from  God.    Every  such  congregation  here,  and  everywhere,  is 


44:  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Here  are  two  main  points :  — 
\1,   Every  Congregational  Church  is,  by  divine  right,  independent 
(of  all  control  from  without,  except  that  of  Christ  its  Head. 
.  v.  2.    Every  Congregational  Church  is  on  a  level  of  inherent  gen- 
V^neness,  dignity,  and  authority,  with  every  other  Church  on  earth. 

1.  Every  Congregational  Church  is,  hy  divine  right,  independent 
of  all  control  from  without,  except  that  of  Christ  its  head. 

(1.)  There  is  no  Biblical  precept  conferring  any  control  over  the 
local  Church  upon  any  man  or  body  of  men.  Those  directions  which 
Paul  gave  with  reference  to  subjection  to  *  principalities  and  powers,'^ 
have  sometimes  been  twisted  in  that  direction,  as  if  the  Apostle  were 
then  persuading  Church  members  to  submit  to  a  Bishop  or  a  Pope, 
rather  than  admonishing  citizens  toward  a  due  subordination  to  the 
laws  of  the  land.  And  the  two  precepts  in  the  last  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (vv.  7,  17),  have  been  claimed,  by  Papists 
and  others,  as  establishing  the  right  of  a  hierarchy  to  the  obedience 

endued  with  power  immediately  from  Christ,  to  govern  itself  ecclesiastically,  or  spiritually."  — 
Henry  Jacobus  '■^  Reasons  for  Reforming  Church  ofEngland.^^   Hanbury.   Vol.  i.  p.  222. 

"  Every  Church  hath  power  of  government  in,  and  by  itselfe ;  and  no  Church,  or  officers, 
have  power  over  one  another  but  by  way  of  advice  or  counsaile."  — Lechforcfs  '''•Plain  Deal' 
ing.''    Mass.  Hist.  CoU.  Third  Series.  Vol.  iu.  p.  74. 

"  A  Congregational  Church  is,  by  the  institution  of  Christ,  a  part  of  the  militant  visible 
Church."  —  Cambridge  Platform.  Chap.  ii.  Sec.  6. 

"  Christ's  gospel  churches  in  their  fraternities  are  not  such  cyphers  as  they  stand  in  some 
men's  accounts  ;  but  are  really  and  truly  proper  bodies,  full  of  powers,  and  authorities,  for  the 
government  of  themselves,  and  all  their  concerns,  as  all  democracies  are."  —  John  Wise.  "  Vin- 
dication  of  Government  of  New  England  Churches.''^   {Ed.  1722.)  p.  56. 

*'  Neither  were  they  [the  early  churches]  subordinate  to  one  another.  No  example  of  this  sub- 
ordination has  yet  been  adduced  from  the  New  Testament.  Even  those  called  mother-churches, 
Buch  as  were  at  Jerusalem  and  Antioch,  did  not  claim  exclusive  power  over  others.  All  were 
distinct  independent  Societies. ^^  —  Davidson.   '■'•Eccl.  Pol.  New  Test.''"'   p.  136. 

*'  The  churches  constituted  on  this  strictly  voluntary  principle,  and  thus  wholly  spiritual 
in  their  character,  were  churches  possessing  each  a  separate  and  independent  character." — 
Vavghan.  "  Causes  of  the  Corruption  of  Christianity.^^  p.  408. 

"Independence  and  equaUty  formed  the  basis  of  their  [the  churches]  internal  constitu- 
tion."— Gi66on.   '■'•Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.'^   Smith's  Edit.   Vol.  ii.  p.  191. 

*'  The  exigences  of  the  Christian  Church  can  never  be  such  as  to  legitimate,  much  less  to 
render  it  wise,  to  erect  any  body  of  men  into  a  standing  judicatory  over  them."  —  Pres.  Stiles. 
^'Convention  Sermon.'^   (A.  D.  1761.)  p.  91. 

»'  Nothing  in  the  history  of  the  primitive  churches  is  more  incontrovertible,  than  the  fact 
of  their  absolute  independence,  one  of  another.  It  is  attested  by  the  highest  historical  author- 
ities, and  appears  to  be  generaUy  conceded  by  Episcopal  authors  themselves."  — Co/ewon '5 
^'Apostolical  and  Primitive  Qiurch."  3d  Edit.   1853.   p.  50. 

"  The  several  churches  are  altogether  independent  of  one  another." --l%de»'5  ''New  Eng- 
land Theocracy.'"  p.  68. 

1  Titus  iu :  1. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  45 

of  the  churches.  But  those  precepts  clearly  refer  to  the  relation  of 
the  members  of  a  Church  to  its  own  Christian  teachers,  and  not  to 
its  subordination  to  any  external  authority  —  whether  of  one  or  of 
many. 

The  first  (v.  7): — "Remember  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you," 
is  explained  by  the  clause  succeeding :  "  who  have  spoken  unto  you 
the  Word  of  God ;  whose  faith  follow,  considering  the  end  of  their 
conversation."  The  words  translated  "  that  have  the  rule  over  you," 
[tdov  ^yov(A,tv(x)v  vfi^v  —  ton  hegoumenbn  human'],  rather  mean  'your 
teachers  or  leaders  in  faith,'  and  the  reference  —  involved  in  the 
word  *  remember,'  —  apparently  is  to  those  who  were  already  dead, 
whose  example  was  to  be  had  in  constant  and  affectionate  imitation, 
as  both  a  stimulus  and  a  guide.^  So  that  there  is  not  here  the  remot- 
est reference  to  any  *  rule '  over  the  Church  at  all ;  as  our  translation 
(prepared  by  prelates)  wrongly  suggests. 

The  other  verse  {v.  17),  unquestionably  does  make  allusion  to  rul- 


1  "  He  first  sets  before  the  Jews  the  example  of  those  by  whom  they  had  been  taught ;  and 
he  seems  especially  to  speak  of  those  who  had  sealed  the  doctrine  delivered  by  them,  by  their 
own  blood,"  etc.  —  Calvin.    Comment,  in  loco. 

"  Sanctitatem  in  omni  vita  exhibuerunt,  et  in  ea  perstiterunt  ad  mortem  usque  ....  Hanc 
sanctitatem  per  fidem  acceperant  atque  servaverant ;  quare  videte  eandem  fldem  retineatis,  ut 
par  sit  et  vester  exitus." —  Grotius.    Comment,  in  loco. 

"  By  the  description  follomng,  it  is  evident  that  the  Apostle  here  intends  all  that  had  spoken 
or  preached  the  word  of  God  unto  them,  whether  apostles,  evangelists,  or  pastors,  who  had 
now  finished  their  course,"  etc.  —  John  Owen.    Comment,  in  loco. 

"  That  is,  calling  to  mind  the  peaceful  and  happy  death  of  those  religious  teachers  among 
you,  who  gave  you  instruction  respecting  the  word  of  life,  imitate  their  faith  ;  that  is,  perse- 
vere in  your  Christian  profession,  as  they  did,  to  the  very  end  of  life."  —  Stuart.  Comment. 
in  loco. 

"Here  dead  teachers  are  intended  ;  as  appears  from  the  word  Mvrjixovevere,  from  the  past 

tense  of  tXAXiKTav,  and  especially  from  the  following  part  of  the  sentence The  reference 

seems  to  be  to  those  holy  preachers  of  the  gospel,  like  Stephen  and  James  (Acts  vii :  59,  60 
xii :  2),  who  died  for  Christ :  '  remember  them  and  consider  then-  deaths,  in  order  to  imitate 
their  steadfastness  in  the  faith.'  " —  Sampson.    Comment,  in  loco. 

"  We  shall  have  to  understand  a  reference  to  such  men  as  Stephen,  James  the  son  of  Zebe- 
dee,  and  James  the  younger,  who  was  stoned  in  a  tumult,  A.  D.  62,  —  men  whose  death  was 

known  to  the  readers,  and  whom  they  even  now  doubtless  acknowledge  as  i]yovnevoi.^'> 

Ebrard.    Comment,  in  loco. 

''  Innuit  ergo  doctores  ex  primis  Christ!  testibus  et  apostolis,  eorumve  discipulis  et  sociis, 
qui  paulo  ante  decesserant,  vel  jam  jamque  decessuri  erant." —  Bengel.  GnoTnon.  in  loco. 

"Remember  them  that  were  your  leaders,  who  spoke  to  you  the  Word  of  God;  look  upon 
the  end  of  their  life,  and  follow  the  example  of  their  faith."  —  Conybeare  and  Howson.  [New 
translation.)  '''■Life  and  Epis.  St.  Paul.^'>  First  4to  Edit.   Vol.  ii.  p.  547. 

"  The  sentiment  here  is,  that  the  proper  remembrance  of  those  now  deceased  who  were  onco 
^our  spiritual  instructors  and  guides,  should  be  allowed  to  have  an  important  influence  in 
inducing  us  to  lead  a  holy  life."  —  Barnes.    Comment,  in  loco. 


46  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

ing  in  the  Church,  but  not  to  ruling  over  it.  Our  translation  says, 
"  obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  yourselves ;  for 
they  watch  for  your  souls,  as  they  that  must  give  account,  that  they 
may  do  it  with  joy,  and  not  with  grief;  for  that  is  unprofitable  for 
you."  But  here  again,  "  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you,"  is  roTg 
'^yovfA.svoig  vficov  [tois  hegoumenois  humbn],  signifying,  as  before,  sim- 
ply the  spiritual  teachers,  or  guides,  of  the  Church,  whose  proper  au- 
thority over  them  *  in  the  word  and  doctrine,'  its  members  are  bound 
to  recognize  and  respect.-^  That  those  ordinary  ministers  of  religion 
who  labor  in,  and  with,  a  Church,  are  here  intended,  and  not  any  hie- 
rarchy without,  is  made  evident  by  the  declaration  that  the  '  guides  * 
referred  to,  are  those  which  '  watch  for  souls,'  which  *  watching '  was 
assigned  to  Timothy,^  as  a  part  of  his  work  as  an  Evangelist ;  and 
they  are  to  *  watch'  not  as  those  who  are  to  reign  over  the  Church  and 

1  "  Doubly  foolish  are  the  Papists,  who  from  these  words  confirm  the  tyranny  of  their  own 
idol :  '  the  Spirit  bids  us  obediently  to  receive  the  doctrine  of  goodly  and  fiiithful  Bishops,  and 
to  obey  their  wholesome  counsels  ;  he  bids  us  also  to  honor  them.'  But  how  does  this  fevor 
mere  apes  of  Bishops  ?  "  —  Calvin.    Comment,  in  loco. 

"  The  rulers,  or  guides,  here  intended,  were  the  ordinary  elders,  or  officers  of  the  Church, 
which  were  then  settled  among  them."  —  John  Owen.    Comment,  in  loco. 

"  Obey  your  leaders  and  be  subject  to  them ;  for  they  watch  over  your  souls,  as  those 
who  must  give  an  account."  —  Stuart.  {New  translation.)  in  loco. 

"  Proper  attention  and  obedience  to  spiritual  guides  is  here  inculcated,"  etc.  —  Turner. 
Comment,  in  loco. 

"  Doctoribus  defunctis  memoriam  prsestate  {v.  7,)  viventibus  obedientiatn Obedite  in 

iis,  quae  praecipiunt  vobis  tanquam  salutaria  ;  concedite,  etiam  ubi  videntur  plusculum  postu- 
lare Auditores  debent  ductoribus  suis  obedire  et  concedere,  ut  cum  gaudio,"  etc.  —  Ben- 
gel.    Gnomon,  in  loco. 

'•  In  the  former  verse  the  Apostle  exhorts  them  to  remember  those  who  had  been  their  lead- 
ers, and  to  imitate  their  faith  ;  in  this  he  exhorts  them  to  obey  the  leaders  they  now  had,  and 
to  submit  to  their  authority  in  all  matters  of  doctrine  and  discipline,  on  the  ground  that  they 
watched  for  their  souls,  and  should  have  to  give  an  account  of  their  conduct  to  God.  If  this 
conduct  were  improper,  they  must  give  in  their  report  before  the  great  tribunal  with  grief; 
but  in  it  must  be  given :  if  holy  and  pure,  they  would  give  it  in  with  joy.  It  is  an  awful  con- 
eideration  that  many  pastors  who  had  loved  their  flocks  as  their  own  souls,  shall  be  obliged  to 
accuse  them  before  God  for  either  having  rejected  orneglected  the  great  salvation."  —  Adam 
Clarke.    Comment,  in  loco. 

"Bender  unto  them  that  are  your  leaders  obedience  and  submission;  for  they,  on  their 
part,  watch  for  the  good  of  your  souls,  as  those  that  must  give  account ;  that  they  may  keep 
their  watch  with  joy  and  not  with  lamentation;  for  that  would  be  unprofitable  for  you."  — 
Conybeare  and  Hoivson.   {New  translation.)  Vol.  ii.  p.  648. 

"  Gehorchet  euren  Fuhrern  und  folget  ihnen  ;  denn  sie  wachen  iiber  cure  Seelen,  als  die 
einst  Rechenschaft  geben  sollen,"  etc.  —  De  Wette^s  translation,  in  loco. 

"  The  reference  here  is  to  their  religious  teachers,  ....  and  the  doctrine  is,  that  subordina- 
tion is  necessary  to  the  welfare  of  the  Church,  and  that  there  ought  to  be  a  disposition  to 
yield  all  proper  obedience  to  those  who  are  set  over  us  in  the  Lord."  —  Barnes.  Comment, 
in  loco. 

2  2Tim.iv:5. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  47 

call  it  to  an  account,  but  as  themselves  *tliey  that  must  give  account* 
to  the  Great  Head,  for  the  faithfulness  with  which  they  have  led 
and  fed  their  flock  '  like  a  shepherd.' 

So  that,  rightly  read,  neither  of  these  precepts  suggests  any  ruling 
over  a  Church  from  without,  except  that  of  Christ,  in  his  Word  and 
by  his  Spirit,  ever  shaping  that  ruling  that  is  within  it,  to  the  prajse 
and  the  glory  of  his  name. 

(2.)  There  is  no  evidence  furnished  hy  the  Scriptures  of  the  exer- 
cise of  any  outward  control  over  the  primitive  churches.  We  have 
already  seen  (pp.  19,  20),  that  the  Apostles  neither  claimed  nor  exer- 
cised such  control  over  those  churches  which  they  had  founded.  There 
is  no  record  of  the  assumption,  or  exercise  of  such  control  by  any 
other  man  or  body  of  men.  And  we  shall  more  clearly  see  how  ad- 
verse the  supposition  of  any  such  control  is  to  the  facts  in  the  case, 
when  we  come  to  the  particular  consideration  of  those  texts  which  are 
urged  —  as  indirect  evidence  —  on  its  behalf. 

(3.)  The  whole  drift  of  the  New  Testament  is  in  a  direction  oppo- 
site to  any  theory  of  control  over  the  individual  Church.  Not  only 
did  the  individual  churches,  in  obedience  to  Apostolic  counsel,  and 
under  the  Apostolic  eye,  perform  untrammelled  all  the  functions  of 
their  Church  life ;  but  the  sole  responsibility  of  their  life  and  labor 
was  laid  and  left  upon  them  by  Christ  and  his  Apostles,  who  every- 
where recognized  the  right  and  duty  of  *  the  brethren '  to  make  final 
decision  upon  all  matters.  Men,  from  reading  the  New  Testament 
alone,  could  hardly  be  led  to  conceive  of  any  supremacy,  whether  of 
one  or  many,  over  that  local  Ekhlesia,  whose  'works '  and  '  labor '  and 
'patience'  had  —  among  others  —  this  praise;  —  "thou  hast  tried 
them  which  say  they  are  Apostles  and  are  not,  and  hast  found  them 
liars."  1 

(4.)  The  general  arguments  of  the  advocates  of  some  external  juris- 
diction over  the  local  churches  do  not  sustain  that  doctrine.  A  late 
earnest  writer  in  the  interest  of  the  Papacy,  has  argued  that  since 
the  Church  must  have  some  government,  and  Christ  does  not  himself 
visibly  preside  over  it,  he  must  have  delegated  his  power  either  to 
some  one  man,  to  an  order  of  men,  or  to  the  whole  Church  collectively. 
The  former  and  latter  suppositions  he  throws  out  as  insufl&cient  for  the 

1  ReT.  U :  2. 


48  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

duties  to  be  perforaied*  inconsistent  with  His  rights  as  the  founder  of 
the  institution,  and  incompatible  with  the  end  intended ;  and  then 
draws  the  conclusion  that  the  power  of  the  Church  was  actually  vested, 
by  its  Great  Head,  in  "  several  offices,  in  due  subordination  to  each 
other,"  all  centering  in  the  occupant  of  the  Papal  chair.^  But  this 
argument  is  most  evidently  founded  upon  a  low  view  of  the  power  of 
truth  over  the  minds  of  men,  and  a  complete  ignoring  of  the  possibil- 
ity of  that  constant  influence  by  Christ  himself  over  the  affairs  of  his 
kingdom  on  earth,  which  his  own  words,  ^  Lo  I  am  with  you  alway/ 
entitle  his  people  to  expect.  It  is  kindred  to  that  old  assumption  of 
despots  that  men  cannot  be  trusted  to  govern  themselves,  without 
forts  forever  frowning  upon  them,  and  an  omnipresent  poUce  peering 
into  their  affairs.  Self-government  is  inconceivable  to  many  minds,  as 
a  system  that  can  be  trusted  to  be  a  regulator  of  human  conduct ;  and 
many  even  who  accept  it  as  sufficient  in  civil  affairs,  distrust  it  still 
in  regard  to  spiritual  things.  But,  if  there  were  only  one  man  on 
earth,  and  he  loved  God,  and  ^  willingly  walked  after  the  command- 
ment,' doubtless  he  could  be  governed  by  the  influence  of  Clirist 
through  the  Word,  and  the  Spirit,  without  a  Pope.  It  is  difficult  to 
see  why,  if  there  were  two  such  men,  the  same  might  not  be  true  of 
them ;  and  so  of  ten,  or  one  hundred.  It  is  difficult,  indeed,  to  see 
why,  on  these  conditions,  the  same  might  not  be  true  of  any  number 
of  men  up  to  the  whole  of  the  race.  So  that  to  deny  that  the  Con- 
gregational theory  —  that  Christ  committed  the  government  of  the 
Church  to  its  own  members,  under  His  constant  supervision  —  is  ade- 
quate to  the  performance  of  all  that  the  nature  of  the  case  demands, 
is  to  deny  the  sufficiency  of  truth  to  do  its  work,  or  the  omnipotence 
of  Christ  in  the  superintendence  of  that  work,  or  both.  And  all  rea- 
soning toward  the  Papacy  as  a  necessity  that  the  Church  on  earth 
may  be  suitably  governed,  is,  in  the  face  of  the  facts,  as  baseless  and 
impertinent,  as  the  assumption  would  be  in  regard  to  civil  matters, 
that  there  can  be  no  just  and  suitable  order,  and  subordination,  with- 
out absolute  monarchy  everywhere. 

The  same,  for  substance,  is  true  of  the  assumptions  of  the  prelacy  ' 
of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  of  the  aristocracy  of  Presbyterianism ; 


1  "  The  Path  which  led  a  Protestant  Lawyer  to  the  Catholic  C^urcA,"  by  P.  H.  Burnett.  Neiw 
York.  1860.  pp.  61-107. 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  49 

all  practically  denying  that  Christ  can  procure  the  proper  government 
of  his  Church  on  earth  without  some  hierarchal  help. 

(5.)  The  texts  cited  hy  the  advocates  of  some  external  jurisdiction 
over  the  local  churches,  in  proof  of  its  Scripturalness,  do  not  sustain 
that  doctrine.  We  have  already  seen^  how  baseless  is  the  Papal 
assumption  that  Christ,  in  the  16th  of  Matthew,  committed  the 
government  of  the  Church  to  the  hands  of  Peter,  as  future  Bishop  of 
Eome,  to  be  administered  in  the  line  of  Episcopal  succession  from 
him. 

The  Episcopal  arguments  for  the  supremacy  of  *  the  Church  *  over 
all  local  congregations  and  all  individual  believers,  are  mainly  founded 
upon  such  an  interpretation  of  the  word  *  Church '  as  sanctions  their 
claim.  But  we  have  seen  ^  that  the  Scriptural  usage  of  the  word 
tnKXr]aia  (ekklesia)  does  not  countenance  such  an  interpretation,  and 
that  those  functions  which  Christ  appoints  to  his  churches^  do  not 
comport  with  it. 

The  central  idea  of  the  Presbyterian  theory  —  which  places  the 
board  of  Elders,  the  Presbytery,  the  Synod,  and  the  General  Assem- 
bly, over  the  local  Church  —  is  that  "the  several  different  congrega- 
tions of  believers,  taken  collectively,  constitute  one  Church  of  Christ, 
called  emphatically  the  Church  ;  —  that  a  larger  part  of  the  Church, 
or  a  representation  of  it,  should  govern  a  smaller,  or  determine  mat- 
ters of  controversy  which  arise  therein; — that,  in  like  manner,  a  rep- 
resentation of  the  whole  should  govern  and  determine  in  regard  to 
every  part,  and  to  all  the  parts  united ;  that  is,  that  a  majority  shall 
govern :  and  consequently  that  appeals  may  be  carried  from  lower  to 
higher  judicatories,  till  they  be  finally  decided  by  the  collected  wis- 
dom and  united  voice  of  the  whole  Church" ^  But  we  have  already 
seen^  that  this  fundamental  assumption  is  erroneous,  and  that  the 
local  Church  is  the  only  one  known  to  the  New  Testament ;  whence 
it  follows  that  all  arguments  founded  on  the  theory  of  any  other 
Church,  must  be  without  warrant  from  the  word  of  God.  The  same 
conclusion  will  be  inevitable  if  we  examine  those  texts  which  are 
specially  relied  on  to  sustain  this  assumption.     The   main   passage 


1  Pages  10, 11.  2  Pages  31-33.  8  Page  34. 

*  'TAe  Constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America.^'  Form  of 
Government.    Book  i.  Chap.  12,  note. 
6  Pages  31-33. 

4 


60  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

quoted,  for  tliat  purj*)se,  in  the  "  Book  of  Discipline,"  is  Acts  xv : 
1-29.  By  turning -to  that  passage,  our  readers  will  see  that  certain 
Judeans  had  insisted,  in  the  Church  at  Antioch,  that  all  Christian  be- 
lievers from  the  Gentiles  should  be  circumcised.  A  discussion  arose. 
Paul  and  Barnabas  participated  in  that  discussion,  but  made  no  at- 
tempt authoritatively  to  decide  it.  The  Church  finally  sent  Paul  and 
Barnabas,  with  several  lay  delegates,  to  Jerusalem,  to  consult  about 
the  matter.  It  is  stated  that  they  were  sent  *  unto  the  Apostles  and 
Elders  about  this  question.'  But  that  this  language  was  not  used 
to  exclude,  but  rather  to  include  (by  specifying  its  most  prominent 
persons)^  the  whole  Church  at  Jerusalem,  is  made  evident  by  the 
fact  that  (y.  4)  '  when  they  were  come  to  Jerusalem  they  were  re- 
ceived of  the  Ghurchy  and  of  the  Apostles  and  Elders,'  and  declared 
their  errand.  *And  the  Apostles  and  Elders  came  together  for  to 
consider  of  this  matter,'  and  when  they  had  fully  considered  it,  *  it 
pleased  the  Apostles  and  Elders,  with  the  whole  Church^  to  send  a 
delegation  to  Antioch  with  their  reply,  and  they  wrote  letters  by 
them,  after  this  manner :  '  The  Apostles  and  Elders  and  brethren 
send  greeting,  etc. ...  It  seemed  good  unto  us,  being  assembled  with 
one  ajccord,  to  send,*  etc.  And  the  delegation  went  to  Antioch  with 
this  epistle,  and  *when  they  had  gathered  the  multitude^  of  the 
Church  at  Antioch  together,  they  delivered  it,  etc. 

We  submit  that  nothing  can  well  be  plainer  than  that  this  was  a  Con- 
gregational, rather  than  a  Presbyterian  procedure.  The  entire  mem- 
bership of  the  Church  at  Antioch  send  delegates  to  the  entire  mem- 
bership of  the  local  Church  at  Jerusalem,  to  ask  their  advice  on  the 
question  whether  circumcision  is  still  a  rite  in  force  upon  them.  The 
entire  membership  of  the  local  Church  at  Jerusalem  —  under  the 
guidance  and  counsel  of  the  Apostles  —  meet  those  delegates,  consider 

1  "  Now  the  Apostles  and  Elders  are  mentioned  first  and  foremoBt  as  members  in  this  assem- 
bly. But  that  we  ought  to  think  of  this  assembly  as  an  universal  one,  is  implied  as  self-evi- 
dent ;  '  for,'  as  Meyer  says,  '  the  deliberation  of  the  Apostles  and  Presbyters  took  place  in  the 
presence  and  with  the  cooperation  of  the  whole  assembled  Church,  as  appears  from  v.  12,  com- 
pared with  V.  22,  and  most  distinctly  from  v.  25.' ''  —  Baumgarten's  ^'■Apostolic  Hist.''''  Vol. 
ii.  p.  13. 

"  The  brethren  were  also  present  at  the  meeting.  In  this  respect  it  was  unlike  modem  Sy- 
nods, from  which  the  people  generally  are  excluded  as  members."  —  Davidson.  '■^Ecclesiastical 
Pol.  of  New  Test.'-'  p.  323. 

"  The  Apostles  and  Elders  are  mentioned  on  account  of  their  rank,  not  as  comprising  the 
entire  assembly.  It  is  evident  from  v.  23,  that  the  other  Christians  at  Jerusalem  were  also 
present,  and  gave  their  sanction  to  the  decrees  enacted."  —  Hacked  on  Acts,  in  loco. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  61 

the  matter,  and  send  a  reply,  which  the  Chur<!h  at  Antioch  receives, 
and  is  comforted.  "We  do  not  see  how  any  man  who  does  not  read 
this  chapter  through  a  Presbyterian  glass  darkly,  can,  by  any  possi- 
bility, distort  it  into  any  semblance  of  support  of  the  Ecclesiastical 
judicatories  which  belong  to  the  Presbyterian  system. 

Equally  fruitless  are  other  attempts  to  graft  that  system  upon  the 
honest  sense  of  the  New  Testament.  The  "Book"  says,^  "The 
Church  of  Jerusalem  consisted  of  more  than  one."  It  then  cites,  in 
proof,  the  following  passages  : 

Acts  vi :  1.  "  When  the  number  of  the  disciples  was  multiplied, 
there  arose  a  murmuring  of  the  Grecians,"  etc. 

Acts  ix :  31.  "  Then  had  the  churches  rest  throughout  all  Ju- 
daea," etc. 

Acts  xxi :  20.  "  Thou  seest,  brother,  how  many  thousands  of 
Jews  there  are  which  believe,"  etc. 

Acts  ii :  41,  47.  "  The  same  day  there  were  added  unto  them 
about  three  thousand  souls.  And  the  Lord  added  to  the  Church 
daily  such  as  should  be  saved." 

Acts  iv :  4.  "  Many  of  them  which  heard  the  word  believed ;  and 
the  number  of  the  men  was  about  ^ve  thousand." 

We  can  find  in  these  passages  no  assertion,  nor  even  hint,  of  more 
than  one  Church  at  Jerusalem.  There  were  other  churches  in  Judea. 
And,  beyond  doubt,  thousands  of  those  who  were  converted  at  Jeru- 
salem were  foreign  Jews  come  up  to  the  feast.  And  even  if  all  were 
residents,  and  all  remained,  there  is  still  no  particle  of  evidence  that 
they  were  associated  into  more  than  one  Ecclesiastical  body.  We 
have  seen^  that  they  all  met  together  in  one  place  for  business,  ap- 
parently as  other  churches  met ;  which  is  the  clearest  proof  that  they, 
however  numerous,  were  but  one  Church.^    And  the  attempt  which 

1  Book  i.  Chap.  10,  note.  2  Page  37. 

3  "  The  entire  multitude  of  the  Christians  [were  called  together]  not  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty.  (Acts  i :  5.)  That  the  Christian  community  in  Jerusalem  was  divided  into  seven 
distinct  churches,  each  of  which  assembled  by  itself  and  chose  a  deacon  (as  some  assert,  i.e., 
Mosheim,  Kuinoel)  is  untenable  and  improbable.  The  difficulty  of  apprehending  how  many 
thousand  Christians  could  have  assembled  in  one  place,  is  lessened  by  the  probabiUty  of  the 
fact  that  many  of  them  had  left  Jerusalem,  where  they  were  present  merely  on  account  of  the 
feast."  —  DeWette^  in  loco. 

So,  of  the  Church  at  Corinth,  the  following  thoughts  are  worthy  of  consideration : 

*'  The  place  (1  Cor.  xiv :  23)  that  speaks  of  the  whole  Church  coming  together  into  one  place, 
doth  unavoidably  prove  (for  aught  we  can  discern)  that  Corinth  had  their  meetings,  and  not 
by  way  of  distribution  into  several  congregations,  but  altogether  in  one  congregation :  and 


62  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

the  "  Book  "  makes,  to'  prove  that  there  were  several  churches  in  Je- 
rusalem which  had  a  practical  Presbyterial  union  for  purposes  of 
business,  bj  first  assuming  that  there  were  so  many  believers  there 
that  they  could  not  all  have  belonged  to  one  Church,  and  then  quot- 
ing such  passages  ^  as  speak  of  the  Church  action  at  Jerusalem  as 
being  that  of  one  body,  which  they  say  must  then  have  been  a  Pres- 
bytery, is  a  begging  of  the  very  question  in  debate,  which  no  man 
would  tolerate,  for  a  moment,  in  a  secular  argument. 

Equally  absurd  seems  to  us  the  attempt  of  the  "  Book,"  to  prove 
from  the  burning  of  the  books  of  those  '  which  used  curious  arts '  at 
Ephesus,  taken  in  connection  with  other  passages  which  speak  of 
Paul's  '  tarrying  at  Ephesus  until  Pentecost,'  and  of '  a  great  door  and 
effectual  *  as  being  opened  to  him  there,  etc.,^  that  "  the  Church  of 
Ephesus  had  more  congregations  than  one,  under  a  Presbyterial  gov- 
ernment." *  Unquestionably  there  was  a  time  when  there  was  more 
than  one  Church  in  Ephesus.  The  first  fruits  of  Paul's  preaching 
there,  appear  to  have  been  gathered  into  a  Church  in  the  house  of 
Aquila.  Subsequently,  on  his  second  visit,  converts  so  multiplied 
that  a  new  assembly  was  gathered  elsewhere.  But  when  Aquila  re- 
moved to  Rome,*  the  Church  that  .had  been  in  his  house  appears  to 
have  coalesced  with  the  other  assembly,  and  thenceforth  we  hear 
only  of  *  the  Church '  at  Ephesus ;  as  in  Acts  xx :  17  (a.  d.  58),  Rev. 
ii:  1  (a.  d.  67,  or  as  some  think,  a.  d.  96),  without  any  added  inci- 
dents, upon  which  the  liveliest  imagination  could  hang  the  Presbyte- 
rial theory.^ 

It  is  indeed  wonderful  with  what  calm  assurance  the  Presbyterian 
"Book"  attaches  its  code  to  Scripture  references  which  have  not 

doth  also  answer  your  reason  drawn  from  the  variety  of  teachers  and  prophets  in  that  Church  ; 
for  it  is  plain  from  that  very  chapter,  that  the  Church  of  Corinth  had  many  prophets :  let 
the  prophets  speak  two  or  three,  and  let  the  rest  judge  {v.  29) ;  and  many  that  spake  with 
tongues,  who  must  speak  by  course  two  or  three,  and  one  interpret  {v.  27) ;  yea  every  one  gen- 
erally had  a  psalm,  or  a  doctrine,  or  a  revelation,  or  an  interpretation  {v.  26) :  as  indeed  they 
came  behind  in  no  gift  (1  Cor.  1:7);  and  yet  for  all  their  variety  of  gifts  and  gifted  men,  proph- 
ets, interpreters,  speakers  with  tongues,  and  the  like,  both  they  and  the  whole  Church  also, 
even  women  and  all,  used  to  come  together  into  one  place."  —  ^'■Modest  and  Brotherly  Ati- 
swer,^^  etc.,  by  Richard  Mather  and  William  Tompson.    London:  1644.   8vo.   p.  37. 

1  Acts  XV  :  4,  xi :  22,  xxi :  17, 18,  etc. 

2  1  Cor.  xvi :  8,  9, 19 ;  Acts  xviu :  19,  24,  26,  etc. 
8  Book  i.  Chap.  10,  note. 

*  He  was  there  in  A.  D.  57,  when  Paul  wrote  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.    Rom.  xvi :  3-5. 
6  See  the  subject  well  and  thoroughly  discussed  by  Dr.  Davidson.    ''^Eccl.  Pol.  New  Test." 
pp.  98-112. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  63 

even  the  semblance  of  remotest  possible  connection  with  the  subject. 
The  vivid  imagination  which  led  the  ancients  to  picture  an  ursa  ma- 
jor in  the  northern  heavens,  on  the  strength  of  a  cluster  of  stars  that 
much  more  decidedly  suggests  to  the  less  poetic  modem  mind  the 
form  of  a  humble  kitchen  utensil,  was  feeble  in  comparison  with  it. 
For  example,  we  leara  ^  that  "  three  ministers,  and  as  many  elders  as 
may  be  present  belonging  to  the  Presbytery,  being  met  at  the  time 
and  place  appointed,  shall  be  a  quorum  competent  to  proceed  to  busi- 
ness," from  Acts  xiv :  26,  27,  compared  with  Acts  xi :  18 ;  passages 
which  declare  that  when  Paul  and  Barnabas  "had  gathered  the 
Church  together,  they  rehearsed  all  that  Grod  had  done  with  them, 
and  how  he  had  opened  the  door  of  faith  unto  the  Gentiles,"  and 
that  "  when  they  heard  these  things,  they  held  their  peace  and  glori- 
fied God,  saying,  then  hath  Gt)d  also  to  the  Gentiles  granted  repent- 
ance unto  life ! " 

So  all  the  proof  adduced  by  the  "  Book,"  from  Scripture,  in  sup- 
port of  the  power  of  Church  *  judicatories,*  over  the  churches  and 
their  membership,  is  ^  those  passages  in  the  18th  of  Matthew  (vv, 
15-20),  which  i;pcord  Christ's  confiding  of  all  matters  of  discipline 
expressly  to  the  hands  of  the  Church  itself,  and  the  direction  of  Paul 
(also  to  the  Church  itself)  when  *  gathered  together,'  to  cast  out 
the  unworthy !  We  are  also  referred  for  proof*  that  "  the  Church 
session  consists  of  the  pastor  or  pastors,  and  ruling  elders,  of  a  par- 
ticular congregation,"  solely  to  the  same  direction  of  Paul,^  "  in  the 
name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  when  ye  are  gathered  together,  and 
my  spirit,  with  the  power  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  etc.  So  we 
find^  the  position  that  the  Church  session  "have  power  to  inquire  into 
the  knowledge  and  Christian  conduct  of  the  members  of  the  Church," 
educed  from  one  single  passage,  and  that  the  following,  in  the  Old 
Testament:^  —  "the  diseased  have  ye  not  strengthened,  neither  have 
ye  healed  that  which  was  sick,  neither  have  ye  bound  up  that  which 
was  broken,  neither  have  ye  brought  again  that  which  was  driven 
away,  neither  have  ye  sought  that  which  was  lost ;  but  with  force 
and  cruelty  have  ye  ruled  them," — a  text  which,  it  seems  to  us,  would 
prove  any  thing  else,  at  least,  equally  as  weU !     So  the  power  of  the 

1  Book  i.  Chap.  10,  Sec.  7,  note.  4  1  Cor.  v :  4,  5. 

2  Book  i.  Chap.  viii.  Sec.  2,  note.  6  Book  i.  Chap.  ix.  Sec.  6,  note. 
8  Book  i.  Chap.  ix.  Sec.  1,  note.                                 6  Ezek.  xxxiv :  4. 


54  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Presbytery*  to  "issue  and  receive  appeals  from  Church  sessions," 
to  "  examine  and  license  candidates  for  the  holy  ministry : "  to  "  or- 
dain, instal,  remove  and  judge  ministers ; "  to  "  resolve  questions  of 
discipline;"  to  "condemn  erroneous  opinions;"  and,  in  general,  to 
"order  whatever  pertains  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  churches 
under  their  care ; "  is  wholly  rested  —  so  far  as  Scriptural  authority 
is  concerned  —  upon  those  passages  which  narrate  the  discussion  at 
Jerusalem  in  regard  to  circumcision ;  ^  the  exhortation  of  the  brethren 
in  Ephesus  to  the  disciples  at  Achaia  to  receive  Apollos ;  ^  the  sep- 
aration of  Barnabas  and  Saul  to  the  work  whereunto  God  had  called 
them ;  *  the  address  of  the  twelve  apostles  to  the  Church  at  Jerusalem 
in  regard  to  the  choice  of  the  seven  deacons ;  and  Paul's  advice  to 
the  Ephesians,^  to  pray  "  always  with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in 
the  spirit,  watching  thereunto,"  etc. ;  and  to  the  Philippians  ^  to  "  be 
careful  for  nothing,  but  in  everything  by  prayer  and  supplication, 
with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be  made  known  unto  God!" 
Our  Presbyterian  friends  regard  these  passages  as  so  overwhelming 
in  demonstration  of  the  Scripturalness  of  their  views  and  of  the  un- 
scripturalness  of  all  opposing  ones,  that  they  calmly^  say,  on  proceed- 
ing to  speak  of  Synods  and  of  the  General  Assembly :'  "as  the  proofs 
already  adduced  in  favor  of  a  Presbyterial  assembly  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church,  are  equally  valid  in  support  of  a  Synodical  as- 
sembly, it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  the  Scriptures  to  which  reference 
has  been  made,  or  to  add  any  other."  We  find  it  easy  to  agree  with 
them  on  the  point  of  the  equal  validity  of  such  texts  in  support  of 
Synods  —  and  we  might  add,  of  Ecumenical  councils,  and  of  the 
whole  system  of  the  Papacy,  as  well  —  but  we  can  hardly  concur  in 
their  conclusion  that  nothing  more  is  needed  to  estabhsh  their  system 
as  the  natural  outgrowth  of  the  Bible.  However  those  who  take 
Presbyterianism  first  for  granted,  and  then  go  to  the  Bible  with  both 
the  expectation  and  determination  to  find  there  the  evidence  of  its 
truth  —  or,  if  not  that,  at  least  not  to  find  there  the  evidence  of  its 
errors  —  may  regard  these  *  proof  texts ; '  it  seems  to  us  abundantly 
dear  that  they  who  take  the  Bible  for  granted,  and  go  meekly,  pray- 


1  Book  i.  Chap.  x.  Sec.  8.  8  Eph.  -d :  18. 

8  Acts  XT :  5-24.  6  PhU.  iv :  6. 

«  Acts  xviii :  24,  27.  '  Book  i.  Chap,  xi,  note. 

*  Acts  xiii :  2,  8. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  55 

erfully,  and  studiously,  to  its  pages  to  find  out  what  form  of  Church 
government  will  be  the  simple  and  unforced  outgrowth  of  its  records, 
and  its  precepts ;  could  by  no  ordinary  possibility  educe  from  it  the 
Presbyterian  theory. 

(6.)  Ohrist,  hy  his  own  voice,  and  through  that  of  his  Apostles, 
placed  upon  the  local  Church  the  sole  and  Jinal  responsibility  of  its 
affairs — under  himself  That  he  did  this  in  respect  to  the  disci- 
pline of  members,  we  have  already  seen.^  We  have  seen  also  that 
he  did  it  in  regard  to  the  election  of  Church  officers.^  We  have 
seen  that  he  did  it  in  reference  to  all  other  necessary  business  of  a 
Christian  Church.^     This  ought  to  decide  the  matter. 

He  never  hinted  to  his  churches  that  they  were  to  carry  their  work 
to  others  to  be  done,  or  their  troubles  to  others  to  be  settled,  or  their 
trials  to  others  to  be  borne ;  but  he  directed  them  to  '  fight  the  good 
fight  of  faith,*  and  to  *  endure  hardness '  for  him.  And  in  the  extrem- 
est  case  of  difficulty  and  discipline,  he  did  not  instruct  Paul  to  assume 
to  interfere  —  either  for  himself,  or  for  the  twelve  apostles — as  being 
officially  authorized  to  settle  it;  nor  to  advise  or  command  the  Church 
to  lay  the  matter  before  Presbytery,  Synod,  or  any  other  tribunal, 
but  directed  him  rather  to  inform  those  interested,  that  the  painful  act 
of  excommunication  that  had  become  necessary,  would  be  properly 
done  if  done  *  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,'  by  them,  when 
*  gathered  together.'  He  charged  them  to  remember  the  words  which 
their  martyred  teachers  had  spoken  to  them  while  they  were  yet 
present  with  them,  and  to  obey  the  pious  counsels  of  the  living  who 
were  breaking  to  them  the  bread  of  life ;  but  he  never  commanded 
them  as  churches  to  *  give  place  by  subjection '  to  any  power  but  his 
own ;  —  *  no,  not  for  an  hour  •  that  the  truth  of  the  gospel  might  con- 
tinue with  them.' 

But,  if  Christ  laid  the  direct  responsibility  of  all  their  affairs  upon 
the  local  churches ;  and  if  the  texts  cited  by  the  advocates  of  some 
external  jurisdiction  over  these  churches  are  guiltless  of  any  such 
suggestion ;  and  if  the  general  arguments  of  those  advocates  for  such 
jurisdiction  are  equally  baseless ;  and  if  the  whole  drift  of  the  New 
Testament  is  in  a  direction  opposite  to  that  of  any  theory  of  control 
over  the  individual  Church ;  and  if  there  is  no  evidence  furnished  hy 

1  See  pages  9, 41,  43.        2  gee  pages  14^18,  40.        »  See  pages  18, 19,  43. 


m  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

the  Scriptures  that  any  such  jurisdiction  was  even  attempted  over  the 
churches  planted  by  the  Apostles ;  and  if  there  is  no  Biblical  precept 
whatever,  conferring  the  control  of  the  local  Church  upon  any  man 
or  body  of  men  —  it  is  an  easy  and  inevitable  inference  that  every 
true  Christian  Church  is,  and  ought  to  be,  mherently  independent  of 
any  jurisdiction  from  without,  except  that  of  Christ  its  Head  ;  who, 
though  ascended  *  unto  his  Father  and  our  Father,  and  to  his  God 
and  our  God,'  is  yet  never  '  far  from  every  one '  of  his  churches, 
which  *  in  him  live,  and  move,  and  have  their  being.* 

2.  Every  true  Congregational  Church  —  whatever  may  he  the  lowli- 
ness of  its  outward  estate  —  is  on  a  level  of  essential  genuineness,  dig- 
nity and  authority,  with  every  other  Church  on  earth.  This  is  a  nec- 
essary consequence  of  the  obvious  fact  that  a  true  Church  of  Christ 
gets  its  vitality,  and  value,  not  from  the  number  of  its  members,  or 
their  wealth,  or  honorable  position  in  human  society ;  nor  from  the 
magnificence  of  its  temple,  or  the  splendor  of  its  worship ;  nor  from 
its  affiliation  with  some  wide-reaching  and  imposing  hierarchy ;  but 
from  its  living  union  to  its  great  Head.  Since  it  is  Christ's  life, — 
rooted  in  him,  brandling  in  them  —  that  must  be  the  Ufe  of  every 
true  Church  ;  and  his  wisdom  and  power,  flowing  from  him  through 
them,  that  must  be  their  wisdom  and  power ;  it  follows  that  wher- 
ever *  two  or  three '  truly  gathered  in  His  name,  have  Him  *  with 
them  alway,'  their  wisdom  may  be  —  and,  if  they  are  faithful  to  their 
possibilities,  will  be  —  Christ's  wisdom,  and  their  dignity  will  be  the 
dignity  of  Christ  ^in  the  midst  of  them,'  and  their  authority,  the 
authority  of  Christ  acting  and  speaking  through  them ;  while  the 
largest  and  most  imposing  organization  cannot  have  any  wisdom 
that  is  wiser  than  that,  nor  any  dignity  that  is  more  august  than 
that,  nor  any  strength  that  is  stronger  than  that,  nor  any  author- 
ity that  is  more  imperial  than  that. 

The  function  of  a  Church  on  earth  is  to  let  its  "  light  shine  before 
men,"^  to  be  "  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth,"  ^  —  by  "  manifesta- 
tion of  the  truth,"  to  commend  itself  "to  every  man's  conscience  in 
the  sight  of  God."^  To  do  this,  fidelity  to  the  truth  is  the  main 
essential.    The  ^ little  candle'  that  throws  its  beams  afar  — 

'*  So  shines  a  good  deed  in  a  naughty  world ;  "  — 
1  Matt.  V :  16.  «  1  Tim.  iii :  15.  5  2  Cor.  iv  :  2. 


4,  WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  57 

if  it  is  only  always  burning,  may  be  even  more  useful  as  a  guide  to 
the  benighted  traveller,  than  if  it  were  a  bonfire  dazzling  his  vision 
by  the  brief  brilliance  of  its  blaze,  only  to  make  the  night  afterward 
darker  around  him,  by  the  contrast.  The  little  pilot-boat,  that  seems 
hardly  more  substantial  than  a  cockle-shell  on  the  heaving  bosom  of 
the  sea,  if  it  only  know  the  way,  may  go  before  and  pilot  an  India- 
man  safe  up  the  windings  of  the  channel,  to  her  wharf,  even  better 
than  the  Great  Eastern  could  do  in  its  place.  And  no  Church  can  be 
so  small  in  numbers,  or  so  feeble  in  its  pecuniary  resources,  or  so 
humble  in  all  its  outward  seeming,  that  —  if  it  live  the  life  of  Christ 
—  it  may  not  safely  ^  bring  unto  their  desired  haven  '  all  those  around 
it  who  *  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,'  and  whp  seek  the  way  to  that 
*  rest  that  remaineth  to  the  people  of  God.' 

Moreover,  a  Church  that  is  few  in  numbers,  and  feeble  in  its  tem- 
poralities, is,  by  those  very  circumstances,  thrown  the  more  on  its 
sense  of  dependence  upon  the  strength  of  Christ,  and  is  therefore  the 
more  hkely  to  be  in  quick  and  constant  sympathy  with  him.  Driven 
to  look  to  his  Providence  for  its  daily  bread,  it  is  not  exposed  to  that 
temptation  which  proved  too  much  for  the  Laodiceans,^  and  its  re- 
ligion will  almost  necessarily  be  more  pure  and  fervent  and  effectual, 
than  if  its  outward  circumstances  should  seduce  it  to  say  '  I  am  rich, 
and  increased  with  goods,  and  have  need  of  nothing  ; '  the  fact  being 
that  this  very  worldly  prosperity  had  blighted  its  spiritual  hfe,  until, 
with  all  its  outward  seeming  of  thrift,  in  the  eye  of  God  it  is  'wretched, 
and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  bhnd,  and  naked.'  Piety  is  both  the 
strength  and  the  dignity  of  a  Church  of  Christ.  And  piety  is  nur- 
tured by  the  feeling  of  dependence  for  temporal,  as  well  as  spiritual 
blessings.  There  is  often  most  prayer  where  there  are  fewest  to 
pray ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  many  a  log  cabin  on  the  West- 
ern frontier,  which  rudely  shelters  '  two  or  three '  devout  men,  in  the 
overlooking  eye  of  Heaven  lifts  itself  under  the  Sabbath  sun  with  a 
loftier  glory,  than  the  proudest  cathedral  pile  whose  towering  summit 
flushes  with  that  sun's  earUest  and  latest  kiss.  The  voice  of  Christ 
will  be  just  as  true,  just  as  wise,  just  as  imperative,  when  it  speaks 
through  the  conscience  (enlightened  by  the  Spirit,  and  the  Word)  of 
a  little  company  of  farmers  in  the  back-woods,  as  when  it  utters  itself 

1  Rev.  m :  14r-22. 


58  CONGREGATIONALISM.  • 

through  the  medium  of  the  *  influential '  and  *  cultivated  *  membership 
of  a  thronged  city  Church;  while  reason  and  observation  suggest 
that  the  obstacles  to  the  pure  deliverance  of  that  voice,  will  be  many 
more  in  the  latter  case,  than  in  the  former. 

That  little  handful  of  North  of  England  men  —  William  Bradford, 
and  George  Morton,  and  Francis  Jessop,  and  Richard  Jackson,  and 
Robert  Rochester,^  and  their  humble  associates  —  as  they  used  to 
steal  along  the  green  lanes  between  Austei-field,  and  Harworth,  and 
Bawtry,  toward  the  manor-house  of  the  Archbishop  of  York,  in 
Scrooby  —  then  tenanted  by  William  Brewster,  who,  as  they  "  ordina- 
rily mett  at  his  house  on  y®  Lord's  day  .  .  .  with  great  love  enter- 
tained them  when  they  came,  making  provission  for  them  to  his  great 
charge  "  ^  —  to  take  sweet  counsel  together,  and  shake  off  the  "  yoake 
of  antichristian  bondage,  and  as  y®  Lord's  free  people,  joyn  them- 
selves (by  a  covenant  of  the  Lord)  into  a  Church  estate,  in  y*  felow- 
ship  of  y*  gospell,  to  walke  in  all  his  wayes,  made  known,  or  to  be 
made  known  unto  them,  according  to  their  best  endeaours,  whatso- 
ever it  should  cost  them,  the  Lord  assisting  them ; "  ^  were  not  only  a 
true  Church,  but  we  might  almost  claim, —  though  so  few,  and,  in  out- 
ward seeming,  so  feeble  and  unprophetic  of  great  results,  —  were  the 
truest  Church  at  that  moment  existing  on  the  earth ;  having  more  of 
Christ's  authority  than  any  other,  and  concentrating  within  themselves 
—  since  the  germs  of  American  Christianity,  and  American  missions, 
and  even  of  American  freedom,  were  there  —  more  irresistible  and 
more  benignant  might  than  any  other.  So  it  has  again  and  again 
come  true,  that  God  hath  "  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to 
confound  the  wise;  and  God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the 
world  to  confound  the  things  which  are  mighty ;  and  base  things  of 
the  world  and  things  which  are.  despised,  hath  God  chosen,  yea,  and 
thmgs  which  are  not,  to  bring  to  nought  thmgs  that  are ;  that  no  flesh 
should  glory  in  his  presence." 

V.  A  FRATERNAL  FELLOVTSHIP  IS  YET  TO  BE  MAINTAINED 
AMONG  THESE  INDEPENDENT  ChURCHES,  AND,  WHEN  INSOLUBLE 
DIFFICULTIES   ARISE,    OR    SPECIALLY    IMPORTANT    MATTERS    CLAIM 


1  Hunter's  "  Founders  of  New  Plymouth,"  pp.  102-129. 

2  Bradford's  ^'■Plimoth  Plantation.'^  (Ed.  1856.)  p.  411.  »  Und.  p.  9. 


•  WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  6^9 

DECISION  (as  when  A  PaSTOB   IS   TO   BE   SETTLED    OR  DISMISSED, 

OR  A  Church  itself  is  to  adopt  its  creed,  and  commence 
ITS  organic  life),  it  is  proper  that  the  advice  op  other 
churches  should  be  sought  and  given,  in  Council;  such 

ACTION  IN  NO  CASE  HOWEVER  (eVEN  WERE  ADVICE  THUS  GIVEN 
TO  BE  SO  REJECTED,  AS  TO  NECESSITATE  A  TEMPORARY  WITH- 
DRAWAL OP  fellowship),  being  any  thing  more  THAN  A 
LABOR   OF  FRATERNAL    SUASION,   OR   SELF-JUSTIFICATION.^ 


1  Even  Robert  Browne  — with  all  hia  Brownism  —  held  to  "  a  joining  or  partaking  of  the 
authority  of  elders,  or  forwardest  and  wisest,  in  a  peaceable  meeting,  for  redressing  and  decid- 
ing of  matters  in  particular  churches,  and  for  counsel  therein."  —  "  Points  and  Parts  of  aU 
Divinity.''  (A.  D.  1582.)  Def.  51.   Hanbury.  Vol.  i.  p.  21. 

John  Robinson  held  that  the  elders  of  the  churches  should  be  called  in  council  upon  doubt- 
ful matters,  and  gave  (A.  D.  1624)  as  a  reason  why  he  had  not  earlier  answered  a  letter  sent  to 
his  Church  at  Leyden,  fcova  the  Congregational  Church  in  London,  that  "  he  conceives  it  not 
orderly  that  the  bodies  of  churches  should  be  sent  to  for  counsel,  but  only  some  choice  per- 
sons," etc. —WbrArs.  (Ed.  1851.)  Vol.  iii.  p.  382. 

"  Though  the  Church  of  a  particular  Congregation,  consisting  of  Elders  and  Brethren,  and 
walking  with  a  right  foot  in  the  truth  and  peace  of  the  Gospel,  be  the  first  subject  of  all  Church 
power  needfull  to  be  exercised  within  itself ;  and  consequently  be  independent  from  any  other 
Church  or  Synod  in  the  use  of  it ;  yet  it  is  a  safe,  and  wholesome,  and  holy  ordinance  of  Christ, 
for  such  particular  churches  to  joyn  together  in  holy  Covenant  or  Communion,  and  consultar 
tion  amongst  themselves,  to  administer  all  their  Church  afEairs  (which  are  of  weighty  and  difll- 
cult  and  common  concernment),  not  without  common  consultation  and  consent  of  other 
churches  about  them.  Now  Church  aflfe,irs  of  weighty  and  difficult  and  common  concernment, 
wee  account  to  be  the  election  and  ordination  of  Elders .,  excommunication  of  an  Elder  ^  or  any 
person  of  public  note  and  employment  —  the  translation  of  an  Elder  from  one  Church  to  another, 
or  the  like.  In  which  case  we  conceive  it  safe  and  wholesome,  and  an  holy  ordinance  to  pro- 
ceed with  common  consultation  and  consent."  — JoA«  Cotton.  ^^Keyes  of  the  Kingdom.'^  (Ed. 
1862.)  p.  102. 

"  When  the  matter  is  weightie,  and  the  doubt  great  on  both  sides,  then  (with  common  con- 
sent) wee  call  in  for  light  from  other  churches ;  and  intreat  them  to  send  over  to  us  such  of 
their  Elders,  or  Brethren,  as  may  be  fit  to  judge  in  such  a  cause ;  upon  their  coming,  the 
Church  meeting  together  in  the  name  of  Christ,  the  whole  cause,  and  all  the  proceedings  in  it, 
are  laid  open  to  them  ;  who  by  the  help  of  Christ,  pondering  and  studying  all  things  according 
to  the  rule  of  the  Word,  the  truth  is  cleared,  a  right  way  of  peace  and  concord  discovered  and 
advised,  and  the  spirits  of  the  Brethren  on  all  parts  comfortably  satisfied."  — JoAn  Cotton. 
'^Waye  oj  the  Churches.'"  (Ed.  1645.)  p.  96.    See  also  pp.  105-107. 

"  Although  churches  be  distinct,  and  therefore  may  not  be  confounded  one  with  another  ; 
and  equal,  and  therefore  have  not  dominion  one  over  another ;  yet  all  the  churches  ought  to 
preserve  Church  communion  one  with  another,  because  they  are  all  united  unto  Christ,  not 
only  as  a  mystical,  but  as  a  political  head,  whence  is  derived  a  communion  suitable  thereunto. 
This  communion  is  exercised  sundry  ways  ;  (1.)  by  way  of  mutual  care  ;  (2.)  by  way  of  consul- 
tation one  with  another ;  (3.)  by  way  of  admonition  ;  (4.)  by  way  of  participation ;  (5)  by  way 
of  recommendation ;  (6.)  by  way  of  relief  and  succor  in  case  of  need,"  etc.  — Cai?ibridge  Plat- 
form. (A.  D.  1648.)  Chap.  XV. 

"  Intkeness  of  Church-government,  in  a  particular  Church  compleated  with  its  officers,  in 
re  propria,  will  well  consist  with  that  communion  of  churches  which  the  Scripture  estab- 
lisheth.    The  reason  is,  because  both  are  the  Ordmances  of  Christ,  and  Christ's  Ordinances  do 


60  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

As  was  said  in  the  beginning  (p.  2),  Congregationalism  differs 
from  Independency,  by  its  recognition  of  this  practical  fellowship  be- 
not  interfere Therefore  Church-communion  must  be  only  in  a  way  of  Brotherly  associa- 
tion, for  mutuall  helpfulness,  in  matters  of  this  nature,  but  not  in  way  of  subordination  or 
subjection  of  one  Church  to  the  Ecclesiastical  Government,  whether  of  another  Church,  or  of 
the  Elders  of  several  churches  assembled  in  classes  or  synods,"  etc.  —  John  Davenport.  '■'■Power 
of  Omgregational  Churches  asserted  and  vindicated.''''  p.  140. 

"Their  determinations  (t.  c,  those  of  Councils,)  take  place,  not  because  they  concluded  so, 
but  because  the  churches  approved  of  what  they  have  determined.  For  the  churches  sent 
them,  and  therefore  are  above  them  ;  and  therefore  may  send  others  if  they  see  fit,  who  may 
vary  in  their  judgements,  and  alter  their  sentences  if  they  see  fit."  —  Hooker.  '■'■  Survey J'^ 
Part  iv.  p.  47. 

"  The  decree  of  a  Council  hath  so  much  force  as  there  is  force  in  the  reason  of  it."  —  Rich' 
ard  Mather.   "  Church  Government.^^  (A.  D,  1643.)  p.  66. 

"As  all  Protestant  writers  of  note  (Qrotius  only  excepted,)  approve  of  the  Necessity  and 
Usefulness  of  Ecclesiastical  Councils,  so  do  those  of  the  Congregational  Discipline.  It  has  ever 
been  their  declared  Judgment,  that  when  there  is  Want  of  either  Light  or  Peace  in  a  Particu- 
lar Church,  it  is  their  Duty  to  ask  for  Council,  with  which  Neighbour  Churches  ought  to  assist 
by  sending  their  Elders,  and  other  Messengers,  to  advise  and  help  them  in  their  Difficulties. 
And  that  in  Momentous  Matters  of  common  Concernment,  Particular  Churches  should  proceed 
with  the  concurrence  of  Neighbour  Churches.  So  in  the  Ordination  of  a  Pastor,  much  more 
in  the  deposing  of  one.  Thus  it  has  ever  been  in  the  Churches  of  New  England."  —  Increase 
Mather.   ^'^ Disquisition  concerning  Ecclesiastical  Councils.^''  (A.  D.  1716.)  p.  ix. 

"  The  Synods  of  New  England  know  no  Weapons  but  what  are  purely  spiritual.  They  pre- 
tend unto  no  Juridical  Power ;  nor  any  significancy,  but  what  is  meerly  Instructive  and  Sua- 
sory.  They  are  nothing  but  some  Wise  and  Good  Men  meeting  together  to  advise  the  Churches 
how  to  observe  the  rules  of  the  most  Inofifensive  Piety.  When  they  have  done  all,  the 
Churches  are  at  Liberty,  to  judge  how  far  their  Advice  is  to  be  followed.  They  have  no  Secu- 
lar Arm  to  enforce  any  Canons;  They  ask  none;  They  want  none." —  Cotton  Mather.  '^ Ratio 
Discipline.''  (A.  D.  1726.)  p.  173. 

"  It  is  entirely  consistent  with  Reason  and  the  Revelation  of  God''s  mind  in  His  Word,  that 

there  should  be  Councils  and  Synods  called  upon  requisite  Occasions But  there  is  great 

Danger,  lest  such  Meetings  should  be  hurtful  to  the  Principles  and  Liberties  of  particular 
Churches,  and  so  degenerate  from  the  good  Ends  which  ought  to  be  designed  and  pursued  in 
them ^Tierefore  it  is  to  be  hoped,  that  the  Brethren  in  these  Churches  will  always  main- 
tain their  Right  to  sit  and  act  in  Councils  and  Synods  ;  but  yet  that  they  will  never  think  of 
placing  any  juridical  power  in  them,  but  will  always  continue  to  assert  the  Powers  and  Privi- 
leges of  Particular  Oiurches,  which  are  sacred  Tilings^  by  no  means  to  be  slighted  and  under- 
valued,  nor  to  be  left  at  the  Mercy  of  any  Classes  or  Councils,  Synods  or  General  Meetings.'"  — 
Samuel  Mather.  ^'Apology  for  the  Liberties  of  the  Churches  in  New  England.'"  (A.  D.  1738.) 
pp.  109, 128. 

See  also  John  Wise's  "  Churches'  Quarrel  Espoused,-'  passim. 

"  All  the  present  disputes  about  Councils  mutual,  and  ex-parte  Councils,  in  respect  to  their 

authority,  are  vain  and  useless  :  because  they  have  no  divine  authority  at  all The  human 

device  of  giving  power  to  Associations,  or  Consociations,  or  Councils,  to  decide  in  Ecclesiastical 
causes,  has  been  a  fruitful  source  of  Ecclesiastical  injustice,  tyranny,  and  persecution."  —  Dr. 
Emmons.    Works.  (Ed.  1860.)  Vol.  iii.  pp.  584,  586. 

"  It  is  an  acknowledged  principle  in  respect  to  Councils,  that  they  possess  only  advisory 
powers  ;  in  other  words,  their  decisions  are  addressed  to  the  understandings  and  consciences  of 
men,  and  are  enforced  solely  by  moral  obligations.  They  are  considered  by  the  churches  as 
interpreters  or  expositors  of  what  is  right,  expediency,  and  duty,  in  the  particular  cases  sub- 
mitted to  them.  Their  proper  business  is  to  Giva  ughi."—  Vpham.  '"Ratio  JhsciplincB.'^ 
p.  185. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM:  IS.  61 

tween  the  churches.     Such  fellowship,  we  believe  to  be  both  Scrip- 
tural and  reasonable. 

1.  We  hold  it  to  he  Scriptural,  as  being  involved  in  Scriptural 
principles,  and  substantially  enjoined  by  Scriptural  precept  and  ex- 
ample.    The  unity  of  the  visible  Church,^  and  the  family  relation 


*'  Councils  may  be  called,  and  may  give  advice  ;  but  this  advice  may  be  accepted  or  re- 
jected." —Dr.  Pond.   ''The  Church:'  (Ed.  1860.)  p.  33. 

"  They  believe  that  it  is  the  duty  of  Christian  churches  to  hold  communion  with  each  other, 
to  entertain  an  enlarged  affection  for  each  other,  as  members  of  the  same  body,  and  to  co- 
operate for  the  promotion  of  the  Christian  cause :  but  that  no  Church,  nor  union  of  churches, 
has  any  right  or  power  to  interfere  with  the  faith  or  discipline  of  any  other  Church,  further 
than  to  separate  from  such  as,  in  faith  or  practice,  depart  from  the  Gospel  of  Christ."  —  '^'■Prin- 
ciples of  Church  order,''"'  etc.,  of  Congregational  Union  of  England  and  Wales.    Sec.  10. 

"This,  then,  I  suppose  to  be  the  doctrine  of  ancient  and  modem  Congregationalists :  —  In 
cases  of  difficulty,  a  Church,  or  the  aggrieved  members  of  a  Church,  may  call  for  the  advice  of 
a  council  of  sister  churches  ;  and  this  advice  the  Church  is  bound  respectfully  to  consider  and 
cheerfully  to  follow,  unless  manifestly  contrary  to  what  is  right  and  Scriptural ;  but  of  this, 
the  Church  has  an  undoubted  right  to  judge  ;  and  to  act  in  accordance  with  its  deliberate 
judgment."  —  PwncAarrf.   ^'' View  of  Congregationalism.^''  (Ed.  1860.)  p.  117. 

"  In  a  multitude  of  counsellors  there  is  safety.  Whatever  wisdom  be  centered  in  a  single 
Christian  society,  cases  will  arise  in  which  it  may  be  benefited  by  the  counsel  of  others.  Yet 
it  is  not  wise  to  resort  to  them  [Councils]  too  often.  Their  assistance  may  be  sought  far  too 
frequently.  Matters  comparatively  trifling,  which  might  be  adjusted  in  another  way,  may  be 
brought  before  such  tribunals.  This  is  not  judicious.  There  must  be  a  felt,  urgent  necessity 
for  councils.  They  ought  not  to  be  lightly  summoned,  or  hastily  appealed  to.  Nothing  but 
unusual  difficulty  or  injustice  should  bring  them  into  being."  —  Dr.  Davidson.  ^^Ecclesiasti' 
cal  Polity  of  the  New  Testament.^'  p.  341. 

"The  communion  of  churches  with  each  other,  and  especially  of  'neighbor  churches'  in 
mutual  recognition,  mutual  helpfulness,  and  mutual  responsibility,  is  not  something  forced 
into  the  Congregational  system,  ab  extra,  by  the  pressure  of  experience  ;  a  merely  empirical 
expedient  borrowed  from  Presbyterianism  ;  a  new  piece  of  cloth  sewed  upon  an  old  garment ; 
but  is  an  essential  element  of  the  system,  as  laid  down  in  all  the  ancient  platforms,  and  as  ex- 
plained and  defended  by  the  Congregational  fathers  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago,  on  both 
Bides  of  the  ocean."  —  '•'■New  Englander."'  Vol.  xiv.  (1856.)  p.  22. 

"  Councils  often  assume  authority  which  they  do  not  possess.  The  style  of  language  which 
they  use  in  their  results  is  often  exceedingly  objectionable.  "When  called,  for  instance,  to  advise 
a  Church  with  regard  to  dismissing  its  minister,  the  Council  not  unfrequently  takes  the  busi- 
ness entirely  into  its  own  hands,  and,  after  hearing  a  representation  of  the  case,  of  its  own 
authority  j7ro7ioMnces  the  minister  dismissed.  'And  hereby,'  they  say,  '  Ae  is  dismissed.''  Other 
assumptions  of  authority,  equally  glaring  and  equally  inconsistent  with  the  fundamental 
principles  of  Congregationalism,  are  frequently  made  by  Councils  ;  and  there  are  reasons  of  the 

most  imperative  nature  why  every  practice  of  this  kind  should  be  at  once  corrected An 

Ecclesiastical  Council  should  always  make  the  impression,  both  by  their  demeanor  and  their  lan- 
guage, that  their  work  is  advisory  or  persuasive ;  or,  as  in  the  case  of  their  actually  ordaining 
a  minister,  that  they  act  simply  as  the  servants  of  the  Church,  perfbrming  the  work  of  its  mem- 
bers for  them,  and  only  at  their  request.  It  should  not  only  be  understood,  but  it  should  be 
more  distinctly  and  formally  acknowledged  than  it  usually  is,  both  by  the  ordaining  Council 
and  the  members  of  the  Church,  that  the  ordaining  power  is  vested  in  the  Church,  and  not  in 
the  Council."  — Weiiwan's  ^'- Church  Polity  of  the  Pilgrims. '">  (Ed.  1857.)  p.  114. 
1  1  Cor.  xii:  13;  Eph.  iv :  4;  John xvli:  20-22. 


62  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

subsisting  between  its  branches,^  make  it  at  once  a  natural  and  proper 
inference  that  a  constant  fellowship  between  those  branches,  should 
conserve  that  unity. 

So  the  general  suggestions  —  "  with  the  well-advised  is  wisdom,"  ^ 
"  he  that  hearkeneth  unto  counsel  is  wise,"  ^  "  where  no  counsel  is, 
the  people  fall ;  but  in  the  multitude  of  counsellors,  there  is  safety,"  * 
"  without  counsel,  purposes  are  disappointed ;  but  in  the  multitude  of 
counsellors  they  are  estabhshed,"  ^  are  calculated  (and  no  doubt  in- 
tended) to  suggest  to  churches,  as  forcibly  as  to  individuals,  the  value 
of  advice  and  sympathy  in  cases  of  doubt  and  difficulty.  Moreover, 
those  precepts  which  make  it  the  duty  of  all  Christians  to  "  walk  by 
the  same  rule,"  and  "  mind  the  same  thing,"  ®  to  "  have  fellowship  one 
with  another,"  "^  to  be  "  fellow-helpers  to  the  truth,"  ^  to  be  "  fellow- 
workers  unto  the  kingdom  of  God,"  ^  to  be  '*  kindly  affectioned  one 
to  another,  with  brotherly  love,"^°  to  be  "likeminded  one  toward  an- 
other, according  to  Christ  Jesus,"  ^^  to  "  be  of  one  mind,"  and  "  live 
in  peace,"  ^^  to  "  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit,  in  the  bond  of  peace,"  ^^ 
to  "  walk  in  love,  as  Christ  also  hath  loved  us,"  ^^  to  "  stand  fast  in 
one  spirit,  with  one  mind  striving  together  for  the  faith  of  the  Gos- 
pel," ^^  to  "love  one  another  with  a  pure  heart,  fervently," ^^  to  "with- 
draw yourselves,"  and  "admonish  as  a  brother,  him  that  walketh 
disorderly,"  ^'^  neither  to  "  bid  him  God  speed "  ^^  who  bringeth  not 
Christ's  doctrine ;  to  "  come  out  from  among  them "  who  touch  the 
"  unclean  thing,"  ^^  —  all  involve  those  duties  for  all  individual 
churches,  as  truly  as  for  all  individual  Christians,  and  require,  for 
their  proper  exercise,  such  a  theory  of  natural  Church  communion, 
and  watchfuhiess,  and  counselling,  as  distinguishes  Congregation- 
alism from  Independency,  properly  so  called. 

Add  to  this  the  direct  force  of  the  example  recorded  in  the  15  th 
'  chapter  of  the  Acts,  where  counsel  was  asked  of  the  Church  in  Jeru- 
salem, by  the  Church  at  Antioch,  in  its  difficulties. —  even  while  the 
Apostles  still  remained,  and  still  retained  the  authority  of  inspiration 

•  1  1  Thess.  iv :  9, 10 ;  Heb.  xui :  1 ;  1  Pet.  i :  22,  u :  17 ;  1  John  iii :  11-23,  iv :  7-21. 

2  Prov.  xiii :  10.  8  3  John :  8.  i*  Eph.  v  :  2. 

8  Prov.  xii :  15.  »  Col.  iv :  11.  15  Phil,  i :  27. 

4  Prov.  xi :  14.  lo  Rom.  xii :  10.  l«  1  Pet.  i :  22. 

5  Prov.  XV :  22.  ^^  Rom.  xv :  5.  "2  Thess.  iii :  6, 15. 

6  Phil.  iU :  16.  12  2  Cor.  xiii :  11.  ^  2  John :  10. 

7  1  John  1:7.  13  Eph.  iv :  3.  i»  2  Cor.  vi :  17. 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  63 

within  reach  of  the  Church  —  and  there  seems  to  be  clear  warrant 
from  the  Bible,  for  the  custom  of  Councils  called  by  churches,  in 
the  Congregational  manner. 

2.  Being  Scriptural,  we  hold  that  manner  to  he  also  reasonable. 
It  is  founded  upon  the  facts:  —  that  all  Congregational  churches 
stand  upon  the  same  grace  of  God  in  the  regeneration  of  the  indi- 
viduals of  whom  they  are  composed;  upon  the  same  platform  of 
Bible  doctrine  as  the  foundation  and  rule  of  their  life ;  upon  the  same 
Holy  Spirit  as  their  Comforter  and  Guide ;  and  upon  the  same  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  their  individual  members,  and  the  Great 
Captain  and  Head  of  their  associated  host.  Having  the  same  nature, 
need,  and  temptations,  the  same  salvation,  the  same  origin  and  end, 
the  same  rule  and  aim,  the  same  stimulus  and  reward,  the  same  love 
and  hfe ;  being  thus  one  in  all  their  constituent  elements  and  aspira- 
tions ;  it  is  reasonable  for  them  to  befriend  each  other,  to  watch  each 
other's  progress  as  they  march  side  by  side  along  the  'king's  high- 
way,' and  fraternally  to  say :  — 

"  We  '11  bear  each  other's  loads,  for  we. 

Neighbors  in  aim,  in  toil  should  be. 
So  shall  our  wayfare  easier  hold  — 

More  long  for  peace,  more  short  for  pain ; 
Such  kindness  yields  a  thousand  fold 

In  blessings  sovra  and  reaped  again." 

As  separate  members  of  the  one  body  of  Christ,  it  must  always  be 
true  of  all  the  churches,  that  "  whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the 
members  suffer  with  it ;  or  one  member  be  honored,  all  the  members 
rejoice  with  it ; "  or  one  member  be  perplexed,  all  the  members  sym- 
pathize and  consult  with  it  —  and  this  is  all  which  the  Congregational 
doctrine  of  Councils  involves. 

It  is  proper  to  add  here  a  word  in  regard  to  their  details  —  though 
they  will  be  discussed  more  fully  in  another  place.* 

The  theory  of  a  Council  always  is,  that  the  Church  desiring  advice, 
asks  that  advice  of  such  of  its  sister  churches  as  it  may  select  for  that 
purpose.  And  as  those  churches  cannot  respond,  and  tender  the 
desired  counsel  en  masse,  they  send  a  delegation  of  their  membership 
—  usually  headed  by  their  pastors  —  to  act  in  their  stead.     By  con- 

1  See  Chap.  iii. 


64  CONGBEGATIONALISM. 

sequence,  it  is  the  churcheSy  constructively,  that  are  present  and  form 
the  Council ;  and  the  pastors,  and  other  delegates,  are  not  there  by 
any  official  or  individual  right,  but  simply  because  they  were  sent  by 
bodies  which  could  not  attend  in  person,  and  which  therefore  act 
through  them. 

Councils  are  of  two  kinds  —  mutual  and  ex-parte. 

A  mutual  Council  is  one  in  the  calHng  of  which,  all  parties  to  the 
difficulty,  or  perplexity  concerning  which  relief  is  sought,  unite.  An 
ex-parte  Council  is  one  which  is  called  by  one  of  those  parties,  after 
every  proper  effi^rt  to  induce  all  interested  to  call  a  mutual  Council, 
has  failed ;  and  no  ex-parte  Council  has  a  right  to  proceed  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  case  before  it,  until  it  has  satisfied  itself  that  every 
reasonable  endeavor  to  secure  a  mutual  Council  has  been  tried,  and 
failed,  and  until  it  has  offisred  itself  as  a  mutual  Council  to  all  parties, 
and  been  rejected  as  such.  This  grows  out  of  the  simple  principle 
that  advice  for  the  relief  of  perplexity,  and  the  healing  of  difficulty, 
should  be  founded  upon  the  full  and  candid  consideration  of  all  related 
facts,  —  which  implies  the  cooperation  of  all  concerned ;  while  such 
advice  will  be  the  more  likely  to  produce  a  salutary  effect,  the  more 
fully  all  parties  have  previously  presented  their  views  of  those  ques- 
tions on  which  it  is  sought.  Where  Christian  principle  fully  governs 
all  those  minds  which  are  interested  in  the  matter  in  debate,  an  ex- 
parte  Council  can  never  be  necessary ;  for  a  mutual  Council  can  al- 
ways be  agreed  upon  by  those  who  are  sincerely  desirous  of  finding 
the  path  of  duty,  and  honestly  willing  to  follow  wherever  it  may  lead. 
But,  as  Christian  principle  sometimes  loses  its  hold  upon  Christian 
professors,  "  it  must  needs  be  that  offences  come,"  which  will  some- 
times require  an  ex-parte  Council  for  their  adjustment. 

Councils  have  no  authority  whatsoever  —  properly  so  called. 
They  are  invited  to  give  advice,  and  it  is  advice  which  they  give ; 
which  the  parties  inviting  them,  may  accept  or  reject,  according  to 
their  own  conscientious  conviction  of  their  duty  to  God  in  the  matter. 
Yet  there  is  a  moral  and  spiritual  weight  in  their  decisions,  growing 
out  of  the  facts : — that  when  good  men,  the  representatives  of  Christian 
churches,  meet,  and  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  with  invocation  of  the  wis- 
dom of  the  Spunt,  prayerfully  investigate  a  point,  and  deliberately 
make  up  their  minds  concerning  it,  there  is  great  inherent  probability 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  65 

that  they  will  be  right ;  and  that  since  this  way  of  Councils  is  Christ's 
appointed  way  out  of  difficulty  for  the  local  Church,  it  is  reasonable 
to  hope  and  expect  that  his  special  guidance  —  as  its  Great  Head  — 
will  make  itself  appear  in  their  decisions,  when  reached  as  carefully, 
humbly,  thoughtfully,  patiently,  and  prayerfully,  as  they  always  ought 
to  be.  So  great,  therefore,  is  the  weight  of  probability  in  favor  of  the 
rightness  of  the  advice  of  such  a  Council,  and  so  strong  the  presump- 
tion that  it  ought  to  be  followed  by  those  to  whom  it  is  given,  that 
nothing  but  the  clearest  evidence  of  its  being  in  error,  can  justify 
the  honest  followers  of  Christ  in  failing  to  comply  with  it. 

Presbyterians  who  have  become  Congregationalists  —  or  who  act 
as  Congregationalists,  without  becoming  such  —  are  very  apt  to  con- 
fuse our  Councils  with  their  own  judicatories  ;  and,  finding  it  difficult 
to  imagine  how  we  can  live  without  somehow  being  governed  from 
without,  are  apt  to  conceive  of  Councils  as  bodies  having  authority, 
and  set,  like  the  centurion,  to  say  '  unto  one.  Go,  and  he  goeth ;  and 
to  another,  Come,  and  he  cometh ;  and  to  its  servant,  Do  this,  and 
he  doeth  it.'  And  —  partly  from  the  presence  of  those  trained  in 
Presbyterianism,  and  partly  from  the  forgetfulness  of  many  Congre- 
gationalists of  their  own  first  principles,  favored  by  that  love  of  con- 
trol which  is  natural  to  man  —  our  Councils  have  not  unfrequently 
assumed,  or  seemed  to  assume,  in  their  'results,'  the  language  of 
power,  rather  than  that  of  persuasion  ;  decreeing,  rather  than  dissuad- 
ing from  the  wrong ;  enacting,  rather  than  exhorting  toward  the  right. 

But,  as  it  is  one  of  our  fundamental  principles,^  that  no  Church 
has,  or  can  have,  any  authority  over  any  other  Church,  and  as  the 
members  of  all  Councils  have  their  seats  in  them  only  as  representa- 
tives of  their  churches — which  can  communicate  to  their  delegates  no 
authority  which  they  do  not  themselves  possess ;  it  is  plain  that  no 
Council  can  have  any  Scriptural  right  to  do  any  thing  more  than  ad- 
vise those  who  have  called  it  together.  And  as  Christ  has  placed 
upon  every  local  Church,  the  sole  responsibility  of  its  own  affairs,  it 
would  have  no  right  to  submit  itself  to  the  authority  of  any  Council, 
if  any  authority  were  assumed  by  one. 

The  whole  truth  is  tersely  stated  thus,  by  one  of  the  ablest  of  our 
younger  writers :  ^  —  "  The  Congregational  doctrine  of  the  authority 


1  Pages  44-56.  a  Rev.  A.  H.  Quint,  in  Cong.  Quarterly.  Vol.  ii.  pp.  68,  64 

5 


66  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

of  Councils,  therefore  is  this :  Councils  come  into  being  by  the  call  of 
parties  inviting.  They  have  power  to  organize ;  power  to  examine 
credentials  —  with  no  power  to  enlarge  or  diminish  their  number; 
power  to  examine  the  subject  specified  in  the  *  Letters  IVIissive/  but 
no  other  subject ;  power  to  hear  evidence  ;  power  to  deliberate  on  the 
proper  course  to  be  taken  in  reference  to  that  subject;  power  to 
advise  the  parties  inviting  them  what  to  do  in  the  matter  —  with  no 
power  to  direct  or  order  any  particular  course,  or  to  reverse  individ- 
ual Church  action ;  and  —  with  power  to  pray  a  good  deal  more  for 
Divine  assistance  than  many  Councils  have  done  —  they  have  power 
to  dissolve." 

It  may  be  asked,  in  case  a  Church  should  decline  to  adopt  the  ad- 
vice of  Council,  is  there  any  remedy ;  and  is  there  any  good  of  that 
Council  ?  We  reply  that  there  is  at  least  this  good  of  that  Council 
—  if  it  has  done  its  work  as  it  ought  to  do  it ;  namely,  its  result  has 
placed  in  a  clear  light  before  that  Church,  and  the  world  around  it, 
that  course  of  duty  which  it  is  morally  bound  to  pursue ;  and  as  pas- 
sion cools,  and  those  unchristian  elements  which  have  warped  it  from 
its  better  judgment  by  and  by  subside,  that  advice  of  Council,  by  the 
silent  appeal  of  its  justness,  will  constrain  the  Church  to  its  adoption. 
It  is  no  small  matter  to  have  a  comparatively  impartial  community 
looking  on  and  justifying  such  a  result,  and  condemning  such  a 
Church.  In  the  end,  that  which  ought  to  be  done  will  be  done,  and 
that  supremacy  of  Christian  principle  over  the  community  which  is 
temporarily  imperiled  by  the  aberration  of  the  offending  Church,  will 
be  meanwhile  maintained  by  that  Christian  result  of  Council,  repre- 
senting the  moral  force  of  the  Church  universal  there,  and  saying  to 
all  concerned, '  this  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it.* 

Technically,  there  is  no  remedy  for  the  refusal  of  a  Church  to  fol- 
low the  advice  of  Council;  that  is,  the  Council  has  no  power  to 
enforce  its  advice  —  for  it  ceased  to  exist,  as  a  Council,  and  became 
resolved  into  its  constituent  members,  as  soon  as  its  advice  was  given. 
The  case  may  indeed  be  conceived  of,  where  —  in  case  the  non-fol- 
lowing of  advice  of  Council  involves  the  fellow^ship  of  the  churches, 
or  some  breach  of  morality,  or  heresy  of  doctrine  —  the  churches 
whose  delegates  had  composed  the  Council,  might  feel  themselves 
compelled  to  suspend  fraternal  intercourse  with  the  offending  Church, 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM    IS.  67 

during  its  aberration  from  the  commonly  received  path  of  duty ;  but 
they  would  take  such  action  on  the  merits  of  the  main  question,  and 
not  because  the  advice  of  their  delegates  in  Council  had  not  b^en 
followed ;  standing,  in  all  respects,  in  the  same  position  with  other 
sister  churches  which  had  not  been  invited  to  send  delegates  to  the 
Council,  but  which  are  moved  to  unite  together  in  this  cessation  of 
fraternity,  on  the  Scriptural  ground  of  *  withdrawing '  from  those  who 
*  walk  disorderly.* 

Thus  the  Congregational  doctrine  of  Councils  —  like  other  of  our 
doctrines  —  throws  us  back  immediately  upon  the  Saviour,  and  com- 
pels us  to  exercise  a  quick  and  living  confidence  in  him,  and  his 
watchful  care  over  those  churches  which  he  has  *  redeemed  unto  God 
by  his  blood.'  We  are  not  suffered  to  rest  in  the  decrees  —  easily 
obtained,  however  dull  may  be  our  perceptions  of  truth,  and  however 
sluggish  our  faith  in  Christ  —  of  any  human  tribunal ;  but  we  are 
perpetually  driven  to  clarify  our  sense  of  Divine  things,  and  quicken 
our  hold  upon  the  Spirit,  and  deepen  our  consciousness  of  dependence 
upon  Him  who  is  *head  over  all  things*  to  us,  by  that  ever  and 
everywhere  recurring  motto  of  our  system,  which  has  as  real  a  mean- 
ing to  us  in  things  Ecclesiastical,  as  in  the  matter  of  our  personal  sal- 
vation —  "  we  walk  by  faithy  not  by  sight" 

VI.  The  Permanent  Officers  which  Christ  designated 
FOR  HIS  Church,  are  of  two,  and  only  two  Classes  ;  the 

FIRST, FOR  THE    CARE  OF  ITS    SPIRITUAL  CONCERNS PaSTORS 

(indiscriminately    styled,    IN    THE    NeW  TESTAMENT,    PaSTORS 

AND  Teachers,  Presbyters  or  Elders,  and  Bishops  or  Over- 
seers,) THE  second, FOR  THE  CARE  OF  ITS  TEMPORAL  CON- 
CERNS —  Deacons  ;   both  to  be   chosen  by  the   membership 

FROM    their    OV/N    NUMBER. 

Here  are  four  points  for  proof:  — 

1.  Christ  —  by  the  precept  and  example  of  his  Apostles  —  desig- 
nated only  two  classes  of  permanent  officers  for  a  Christian  Church. 

2.  The  first  class  —  for  the  care  of  its  spiritual  concerns  —  are 
indiscriminately  styled,  in  the  New  Testament,  Pastors,  Teachers, 
Presbyters  or  Elders,  and  Bishops  or  Overseers. 

3.  The  second  class  —  for  the  care  of  its  temporal  concerns  —  are 
called  Deacons. 


68  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

4.  Both  are  to  be  chosen  and  set  apart  by  the  Church,  from  its 
own  membership, 

1.  Christ  designated  only  two  classes  of  permanent  officers  for  Ms 
churches}  The  following,  it  is  believed,  are  all  the  titles  which 
have  been  supposed  to  be  associated  with  office  in  connection  with 
the  churches  of  Christ  in  the  New  Testament ;  namely :  Apostles,^ 


1  "  It  remaineth  therefore,  that  the  ordinary  Officers  of  the  Church  which  are  to  continue 
to  the  comming  of  Christ  Jesus,  are  either  Elders  (whom  the  Apostle  calleth  also  Bishops, 
Tit.  i :  5,  7  ;  Acts  xx  :  17-28)  or  Deacons,"  etc.  —John  Cotton.  "  Way  of  the  Churches.''-  p.  10. 
"  Finding  the  first  Epistle  to  Timothy  passing  from  the  Directions  for  the  good  Conduct  of 
Bishops,  immediately  to  those  for  that  of  Deacons^  without  any  mention  of  Presbyters  distinct 
from  them,  is  it  not  as  evident  as  a  Noonday  Sun  can  make  any  thing  in  the  world  unto  us, 
that  there  are  only  those  Two  Ordinary  Officers  instituted  by  the  Lord  for  the  Service  of  His 
Churches,  and  that  there  is  no  Institution  for  any  other  Bishops,  but  the  Pastors  of  Particular 
Con^egations  ?  —  Cotton  Mather.   '■'■  Sorru  Seasonable  Inquiries.''''    (A.  D.  1723.)  p.  2. 

"  When  we  look  at  the  settled  state  of  the  churches,  after  charisms  had  generally  ceased  — 
when  the  minds  of  Christians  were  no  longer  elevated  and  enlightened  by  extraordinary  in- 
fluences of  the  Spirit — when  all  that  remained  of  the  gifted  brethren  appeared  in  the  elders — 
men  favored  with  less  remarkable  manifestations  ;  we  shall  find  no  other  office-bearers  besides 
them,  than  those  attending  to  the  secular  affairs.  Bishops  and  Deacons  were  intended  to  con- 
tinue in  the  churches  of  Christ ;  other  offices  were  temporary."  —  Davidson's  ^'Ecclesiastical 
Polity  of  the  New  Testament.''^     p.  153. 

"  The  original  and  ordinary  officers  of  the  Church  consisted  of  two  classes  ;  the  first,  known 
by  different  names,  iTriaKoiroi  —  overseers,  superintendents,  bishops ;  npe<T,^vTcpoi — presbyters, 
elders;  ctSaaKaXoi  —  teachers;  iroinevei — pastors,  etc.:  the  second,  SiaKOfoi — servants,  deo' 
cons.''''  —  Coleman's  '■^Ancient  Christianity.''^  p.  127. 

"All  the  distinction  we  can  admit  between  bishops  and  presbyters  then,  is  that  the  latter 
was  particularly  the  name  of  dignity,  the  former  the  name  designating  the  function,  or  par- 
ticular sphere  of  activity.  .  .  .  Besides  these,  we  find  only  one  other  Church  office  in  the  Apos- 
tolic age  —  that  of  Deacons." — Neander.  '■'History  of  the  Christian  Church.''^  Vol.  i.  pp.  186,188. 
"  Can  any  thing  be  made  more  plain,  by  Scripture  testimony,  than  the  correctness  of  this 
doctrine  of  Congregationalism,  that  elder,  pastor,  bishop,  are  different  titles  of  the  same  Church 
officer  ?  ....  If  this  be  an  admitted  fact,  and  the  soundness  of  the  first  principle  of  Congrega- 
tionalism be  allowed  —  that  the  Scriptures  are  our  safe  and  only  guide  in  respect  to  Church 
polity  —  then  it  must  follow,  that  no  distinction  should  now  be  made  between  elders  and  bi.-;h- 
ops.  This  is  Congregational  doctrine.  Deacons  are  the  only  other  permanent  Church  officers 
recognized  by  Congregationalists."     Punchard''s  "  View.^'  pp.  97,  98. 

"  We  come  back,  then,  with  entire  confidence  upon  what  we  conceive  to  be  the  doctrine  of 
the  New  Testament,  that  there  are  but  two  distinct  orders,  or  classes  of  officers  in  the  Church 
of  Christ ;  the  one  having  charge  of  the  spiritual  concerns  of  the  Church,  the  other  of  its  tem- 
poral concerns  :  the  one  commonly  denominated  bishops  or  presbyters,  the  other  deacons.^''  — 
£>r.  Pond's  ^'The  Church.'"   p.  71. 

"  They  believe  that  the  only  officers  placed  by  the  Apostles  over  individual  churches,  are  the 
bishops  or  pastors,  and  the  deacons  ;  the  number  of  these  being  dependent  upon  the  numbers 
of  the  Church  ;  and  that  to  these,  as  the  officers  of  the  Church,  is  committed  respectively  the 
administration  of  its  spiritual  and  temporal  concerns  —  subject,  however,  to  the  approbation 
of  the  Church."  —  '^Principles  of  Church  Order.'''  Congregational  Union  of  England  and 
Wales.  V. 
2  Luke  vi :  13  i  1  Cor.  xii :  28 ;  Eph.  iv  :  11,  etc. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM    IS.  69 

Evangelists,^  Prophets,^  Pastors,^  Teachers,^  Presbyters  or  Elders,^ 
iiisliops,^  Angels  of  the  Church,'  Deacons,^  and  Deaconesses.^ 

Of  these  it  will  probably  be  conceded  at  once  that  the  Apostles 
and  Prophets,  having  been  divinely  endowed  and  commissioned  with 
miraculous  gifts  for  a  special  work  in  connection  with  the  early  days 
of  Christianity,  are  to  be  regarded  as  extraordinary  laborers,  having 
no  successors  in  the  peculiar  relation  which  they  sustained  to  the 
churches.^^  The  office  of  Deaconess  seems  also  to  have  had  relations 
so  peculiar  to  the  condition  of  women  in  the  East  in  the  early  times 
of  the  Church,  —  by  rigorous  social  usage,  nearly  inaccessible  to  the 
helpful  visitation  of  the  male  functionaries  of  the  Church  —  as  to 
have  become  outgrown  in  that  onward  march  of  society  which  Chris- 
tianity has  caused,  by  which  the  condition  of  women  has  been  raised 
to  a  level  with  that  of  the  other  sex  ;  so  that  —  in  the  absence  of  any 
precept  for  its  continuance  —  this  too  may  be  classed  among  extraor- 
dinary offices,  the  supply  of  which  has  ceased  —  and  was  intended 
to  cease  —  with  the  demand.^ 


I  Eph.  iv :  11 ;  Acts  xxi :  8  ;  2  Tim.  iv :  6.  »  1  Cor.  xii :  28 ;  Eph.  iv :  11 ;  Acts  xiii :  1. 
3  Eph.  iv :  11.  <  Eph.  iv :  11 ;  Acts  xiii :  1 ;  1  Cor.  xii :  28. 
6  Acts  xi :  30 ;  xiv :  23 ;  xv :  2,  4;  g,  22,  23 ;  1  Tim.  v:  17  ;  Tit.  i :  5 ;  James  v:  14,  etc. 

6  Phil,  i:  1;  1  Tim.  iii :  1,2;  Tit.  i:  7.  ">  Kev.  i:  20;  11:  1,  8, 12, 18;  iii:  1,7,14. 

8  Acts  vi :  1-7  ;  Phil,  i :  1 ;  1  Tim.  iii:  8, 10, 12, 13. 

9  Rom.  xvi  :  1 ;  1  Tim.  iu :  11. 

1'^  "  The  Apostolical  office,  as  such,  was  personal  and  temporary ;  and  therefore,  according 
to  its  nature  and  design,  not  successive  or  communicable  to  others  in  perpetual  descendence 
from  them.  It  was,  as  such,  in  all  respects  extraordinary,  conferred  in  a  special  manner,  de- 
signed for  special  purposes,  discharged  by  special  aids,  endowed  with  special  privileges,  as  was 
needful  for  the  propagation  of  Christianity,  and  founding  of  churches."  —  Barrow.  "Pope's 
Sitpremaci/.''^    Works.  (Ed.  1845  )  Vol.  iii.  p.  115. 

"  This  office,  [the  Apostle's]  from  its  nature,  was  temporary,  and  was  confined  to  those  who 
had  been  with  him  [the  Saviour]  during  his  pubUc  ministry,  and  whom  he  had  specially  called 
for  this  purpose,  with  Matthias,  who  was  chosen  to  fill  the  vacated  place  of  Judas,  and  Paul, 
who  w;vs  called  to  the  special  work  of  the  Apostleship  among  the  Gentiles,  and  permitted  to  see 
the  Saviour  in  a  miraculous  manner,  after  his  ascension,  m  order  that  he  might  have  the  ap- 
propriate qualification  of  an  Apostle  .  .  There  is  no  evidence  whatever  that  the  office  of 
'  prophet '  was  intended  to  be  permanent.''  —  .Barnes.    ''Apostolic  Church.'"  pp.  191,  196. 

II  "  Phebe  our  sister,"  was  a  SiaKnvov  — deaconess  [servant]  "of  the  Church,  which  is  at 
Cenchrea."  Neandor  {Pfl.  u.  Lett.  Ed.  4,  pp.  265—267)  proves  that  the  deaconesses,  of  whom 
Phebe  was  one,  ought  not  to  be  considered  as  identical  with  the  "  widows  "  of  1  Tim.  v :  3-16. 
The  "  Apostolical  Constitutions  "  settle  it  that,  when  they  were  written,  there  was  no  identity 
between  the  two,  for  it  is  commanded  that  the  deaconesses  be  selected  from  among  the  virgins, 
but  when  this  could  not  be,  they  must,  at  least,  be  widows-.  (See  Chase's  ''  Apos.  Con.'''  p. 
374.)  The  reason  for  their  appointment  comes  out  in  Book  iii.  Chap.  xv.  '■'■Apos.  Con.'"  where 
it  is  commanded:  —  "  Ordain  also  a  Deaconess,  who  is  faithful  and  holy,  for  the  ministrations 
to  the  women.    For  sometimes  thou  canst  not  send  a  Deacon,  who  is  a  man,  to  the  women  ia 


70  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

The  precise  meaning  of  the  term  Angel  of  the  Church,  as  used  in 
the  Apocalypse,-^  has  been  the  subject  of  some  controversy.  The 
word  ayysXog  {aggelos)  literally  means  '  one  who  is  sent,'  *  a  messen- 
ger,* and  perhaps  its  most  natural  sense  in  this  connection  would  be 
to  understand  it  as  referring  to  the  pastor  of  the  Church  as  the  mes- 
senger of  God  to  it  for  instruction,  and  its  messenger  to  God  in  the 
offering  of  worship.  At  any  rate  it  is  clear  that  no  hint  is  given  in 
the  New  Testament  of  any  other  officer  of  the  Church  who  might 
more  appropriately  bear  the  name,  and  the  weight  of  critical  author- 
ity ^  is  altogether  in  favor  of  such  an  exposition  of  the  phrase  as 

certain  houses,  on  account  of  the  unbelievers.     Thou  shalt  therefore  send  a  woman,  a  Dear 
coness,  on  account  of  the  imaginations  of  the  bad." 

PUny,  in  his  celebrated  letter  to  Trajan,  says  "  necessarium  credidi,  ex  duabus  ancillis  quae 
ministrce  dicebantur,  quid  csset  veri  et  per  tormenta  quaerere  ;  "  —  "I  deemed  it  necessary  to 
put  two  maid-servants,  who  are  called  deaconesseSy  to  the  torture,  to  ascertain  the  truth." 
The  "even  so  must  their  wives  be  grave,"  etc.,  (1  Tim.  iii:  11)  most  probably  refers  to  this 
order  of  female  officers.  Literally  it  is  "  Even  so  must  ywdtKos  —  [the  women]  be  grave,"  etc. 
Alford  says  ( Com.  in  loco.)  that  these  are  deaconesses  :  —  "In  this  view  the  ancients  are,  as  far 
as  I  know,  unanimous.  Of  the  modems,  it  is  held  by  Grotius,  Michselis,  De  Wette,  Wiesinger, 
and  Ellicott." 

1  Rev.  i :  20 ;  ii :  1,  8, 12, 18  ;  iii :  1,  7,  14. 

2  "  Certain  it  is,  ayycXos  signifieth  no  more  than  is  common  to  all  ministers,  namely,  to  be 
God's  messengers,  and  move  upon  his  errand."  —  Poole's  Annotations,  in  loco. 

"  By  ayyeXos  we  are  to  understand  the  messenger  or  person  sent  by  God  to  preside  over  this 
Church,  and  to  him  the  epistle  is  directed,  not  as  pointing  out  his  state,  but  the  state  of  the 
Church  under  his  care.  Angel  of  the  Church  here  answers  exactly  to  that  officer  of  the  syna- 
gogue among  the  Jews,  called  sheliach  tsibbur,  the  messenger  of  the  Church,  whose  business 
was  to  read,  pray,  and  teach  in  the  synagogue."  —  Adam  darhe.,  Comment,  in  loco. 

"  And  to  the  angel,  or  minister,  of  the  Church  which  is  in  Smyrna,  Pergomos,"  etc. — Dodd' 
ridge'^s  '■''Family  Expositor,''''  in  loco. 

"  He  holds  in  his  hand  the  seven  stars  which  are  the  angels,  or  ministers,  of  the  churches." 
— Wordsworth  '^^On  the  Apocalypse.'"   p.  139. 

"By  Angels  of  the  Churches  must  be  here  understood  those  rulers  of  the  Christian  Church., 
whose  office  it  was  to  offer  up  public  prayers  in  the  Church,  to  manage  sacred  concerns,  and 
discourse  to  the  people."  —  Vitringa.    "Anakr.  Apoc.^^  p.  25. 

"  As  the  Gospel  is  preached  only  by  men,  this  '  angel '  who  has  it  to  preach  to  '  every  nation 
and  kindred  and  tongue  and  people  '  must  be  the  symbol  of  a  human  ministry." — Dr.  J.  M. 
Mason.    Works.  Vol.  2.  p.  147. 

"  The  word  [angel]  designates  here  the  leading  teacher,  or  religious  instructor  in  the  Asiatic 
Churches." — Stuart.    Comment,  in  loco. 

"  The  conclusion,  then,  to  which  we  have  come,  is  that  the  '  angel  of  the  Church  '  was  the 
pastor  or  the  presiding  presbyter  in  the  Church  ;  the  minister  who  had  the  pastoral  charge 
of  it,  and  who  was  therefore  a  proper  representative  of  it."  — Barnes.    Comment,  in  loco. 

Archbishop  Whately  refers  the  term  'angel'  here  to  the  pastor  of  the  Church,  but  sup- 
poses him  to  have  been  nominated  by  the  Apostles,  and  so  an  ayycXog  in  virtue  of  being  sent 
by  them.  He  says :  —  "It  seems  plainly  to  have  been  at  least  the  general,  if  not  the  univer- 
sal, practice  of  the  Apostles,  to  appoint  over  each  separate  Church  a  single  individual,  as  a 
chief  Governor,  under  the  title  of '  Angel,'  (i.  e.  Messenger,  or  Legate  from  the  Apostles  "),  etc. 
—^^'' Kingdom  of  Christ."  (Carter's  Ed. )  p.  44. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM  IS! 

takes  it  out  of  the  catalogue  of  separate  functionaries  or8te§  or  ei 
traordinaiy,  and  makes  it  but  another  special  synonyme  for  the  chief 
permanent  officer  of  the  Church. 

The  term  Evangelist  ^  occurs  three  times  in  the  New  Testament. 
It  literally  means  '  a  messenger  of  good  tidings.'  Such  were  Philip 
the  deacon,  Timothy  and  Titus.  Evangelists  seem  to  have  corres- 
ponded almost  precisely  with  what  are  known  in  our  day  as  mission' 
aries  —  whose  business  it  is  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  '  the  regions  be- 
yond' the  already  Christianized  part  of  the  world.  Some  indeed 
have  supposed  that  they  were  temporary  laborers,^  whose  special 
duty  ceased  with  the  age  of  the  Apostles  and  of  miracles ;  but  whether 
this  be  so  or  not,  it  is  generally  agreed  that,  as  their  function  was  a 
peculiar  one,  leading  them  out  where  churches  did  not  exist,  they 


Those  who  wish  to  study  the  subject  thoroughly,  are  commended  to  an  article  in  the  Biblio- 
theca  Sacra,  for  April,  1855,  from  the  pen  of  llev.  Isaac  Jennings,  of  Ongar,  England,  who 
gives  nine  different  previous  expositions  of  the  phrase,  and  then  proposes  two  more.  That 
which  he  favors  is  a  reference  of  the  word  angel  to  its  hteral  sense,  understanding  it  of  dele- 
gates or  messengers  sent  by  the  seven  churches  to  visit  John  in  Patmos,  and  bearing  thence 
these  epistles  to  the  respective  bodies  which  sent  them.  This  he  thinks  "  meets  the  exigentia 
loci;  is  perfectly  natural  in  itself;  meets  and  removes  various  dMculties,  and  is  open  to  no 
fair  grammatical,  logical,  or  theological  objection."  (p.  348.) 

1  Acts  xxi:  8  ;  Eph  iv;  11 ;  2  Tim  iv  :  6. 

2  "  Apostles,  Evangelists,  and  Prophets  were  bestowed  on  the  Church  for  a  limited  time  only, 
—  except  in  those  cases  where  religion  has  fallen  into  decay,  and  evangeUsts  are  raised  up  in  an 
extraordinary  manner,  to  restore  the  pure  doctrine  which  had  been  lost." — Calvin.  Comment. 
Eph.  iv:  11,    [Calvin  Translation  Society's  translation.) 

"  But  for  the  continuance  of  this  office  of  an  Evangelist  in  the  Church,  there  is  no  direction 
in  the  Epistles  either  to  Timothy  or  Titus,  or  any  where  else  in  Scripture."  —  John  Cotton. 
^'■Keyes,'^  etc.   p.  78. 

"  Although  the  office  of  Evangelist  corresponded  with  that  of  a  modern  missionary,  it  may 
be  fairly  inferred  that  it  was  temporary,  being  so  connected  with  the  Apostolic  functions,  that 
when  the  latter  ceased,  it  necessarily  ceased  at  the  same  time.  There  are  no  Apostles  in  the 
present  day  to  send  forth  Evangelists  on  special  errands  ;  neither  do  men  possess  the  extraor- 
dinary gifts  which  belonged  to  the  primitive  EvangeUsts.  Paul  makes  no  mention  of  them 
along  with  bishops  and  deacons,  in  his  directions  to  Timothy.  The  office  in  question,  like  that 
of  an  Apostle,  was  not  confined  to  one  Church  ;  whereas,  no  office-bearers  intended  to  be  per- 
manent in  the  Christian  dispensation  belong  to  more  than  one  Church.  Modem  missionaries, 
improperly  said  to  be  ordained  before  their  departure  to  heathen  lands,  sustain  no  office. 
They  do  not  become  office-bearers  till  a  Christian  Church  invite  them  to  take  oversight  of  them 
in  the  Lord,  and  they  accept  the  call."  — Dr.  Davidson.    ^'-  Eccles.  Pol.  of  New  Test.""  p.  145. 

"  If  all  are  not  agreed  that  this  office  [of  Evangelist]  was  temporary,  they  are  agreed  that  it 
does  not  belong  essentially  to  the  structure  of  a  local  Church."— .4rt.  '■'■Church  Offices.''  Spirit 
of  the  Pilgrims.   Vol.  iv.  (1831),  p.  18G. 

See  an  excellent  article  on  "Evangelists,"  by  Dr.  Pond  in  the  New  Englander,  (1844), 
Vol.  ii.  pp.  297-303. 

See  also  an  article,  of  an  opposite  tenor,  by  C.  Colton,  in  the  Monthly  Christian  Spectator^ 
(1828),  Vol.  X.  pp.  292-296,  337-340,  393-398. 


72  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

cannot  —  whether  intended  to  be  temporary  or  not  —  properly  be 
considered  as  a  class  of  permanent  officers  in  the  churches. 

There  are  in  the  New  Testament  two  instances  of  the  formal  enu- 
meration of  laborers  and  gifts  in  connection  with  the  Church.  The 
first  is,^  — "  God  hath  set  some  in  the  Church,  first,  Apostles  ;  sec- 
ondarily, prophets ;  thirdly,  teachers ;  after  that  miracles  ;  then  gifts 
of  healings,  helps,  governments,^  diversities  of  tongues."  The  other 
is,^ — "  Wherefore  he  saith,  when  he  ascended  up  on  high,  he  led  cap- 
tivity captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto  men.  And  he  gave  some,  Apos- 
tles ;  and  some,  prophets ;  and  some,  evangelists ;  and  some,  pastors 
and  teachers." 

Here  are,  in  addition  to  those  we  have  already  considered,  and  in 
addition  to  those  which  we  reserve  for  consideration  under  the  next 
head,  these  five  specifications  ;  namely :  *  miracles,'  '  gifts  of  healings/ 
*  helps,'  '  governments,'  and  '  diversities  of  tongues.'  The  connection 
in  which  the  words  are  used,  evidently  implies  that  there  were  in  the 
primitive  churches,  either  distinct  classes  of  laborers,  or  distinct  con- 
ditions of  laboring,  intended  to  be  characterized  by  the  different  terms 
of  this  enumeration.  It  is  obvious,  moreover,  from  the  tenor  of  a 
large  portion  of  these  catalogues,  that  they  were  rather  designed  to 
chronicle  those  facts  which  existed  in  the  semi-miraculous  age  of  the 
Church,  than  to  lay  down  rules  and  prescribe  officers  for  its  future.'* 
Still,  since  the  normal  platform  on  which  Christ  intended  his  Church 
permanently  to  rest,  may  be  presumed  to  underlie,  or  interlie,  what- 
ever was  miraculous  and  adapted  specially  for  its  initial  necessities, 
we  may  hope  to  gain  light  as  to  the  Divine  plan  for  it  in  all  ages,-  by 
studying  these  unusual  provisions  for  its  exigencies  in  the  beginning ; 
remembering,  all  the  while,  that  the  mere  mention  of  a  name  here, 

1  1  Cor.  xii :  28. 

2  The  authorized  (King  James')  version  (A.  D.1611)  translates  these  two  "  helpes  in  govern- 
ments ; "  running  the  two  togetiier.  So  far  as  we  know,  this  was  the  first  instance  of  such  a 
rendering.  The  Rheims  version  (A. D.  1582)  has  it  "helpes,  gouernements,"  etc.  That  of 
Geneva  (A.  D.  1557)  renders  it  "  helpers,  gouernors  ;  "  as  does  Cranner,  (A.  D.  1539.)  Tyndalo 
(A. D.  1534)  gives  it  like  the  Genevan  rendering;  while  Wiclif  (A. D.13S0)  says  "helpyngis, 
gouernailis." 

3  Eph.  iv :  8, 11. 

*  "  In  the  catalogue  of  the  spiritual  men  given  here,  there  is  no  mention  made  of  Bishops, 
Elders,  and  Deacons,  the  standing  ministers  in  the  Church.  The  reason  is,  the  Apostle  men- 
tions only  those  to  whose  offices  the  [miraculous]  spiritual  gifts  were  necessary,  and  who  were 
to  be  laid  aside  when  the  spiritual  gifts  were  withdrawn.  Now  Bishops,  Elders,  and  Deacons 
■were  not  of  that  Und.''^  —  Macknight  on  the  Epistles,  p.  189. 


"WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  73 

provided  it  occur  no  where  else  in  the  Bible,  and  particularly  if  it 
have  no  recognition  in  those  portions  of  the  New  Testament  which 
specially  set  forth  the  nature  and  duties  of  those  offices  which  con- 
fessedly were  meant  to  be  permanent,  can  hardly  warrant  the  con- 
clusion that  it  describes  a  functionary  vital  to  Christ's  idea  of  the 
working  of  his  Church  in  every  age.  A  very  probable  theory,  in- 
deed, is  that  urged  by  Doddridge,  and  others,^  that  the  reference  here 
is  not  at  all  to  distinct  offices  or  officers,  but  rather  to  diffiirent  meth- 
ods of  labor  in  which  the  skill  and  usefulness  of  the  same  persons 
found  expression,  at  different  times,  and  under  different  circum- 
stances ;  making  these,  catalogues  rather  of  ways  of  usefulness,  than 
of  separate  helpers. 

Still  another  explanation  deserving  mention  is  that  of  Dr.  Owen,^ 
that  the  reference  here  is  to  persons  endowed  (for  the  special  needs 
of  the  Church  in  its  beginning),  with  extraordinary  gifts  "  which  did 
not  of  themselves  constitute  them  officers,"  but  which  "  belong  to  the 
second  head  of  gifts  which  concern  duties  only."  So  that,  in  his 
judgment,  if  these  texts  describe  different  workers,  they  do  not  neces- 
sarily describe  so  many  different  officers  for  the  Church. 

A  careful  examination,  however,  of  the  terms  employed  must  be 
our  best  guide  to  their  meaning. 

Miracles  {dvvdiieig  —  dunameis)*  is  obviously  an  abstract  noun  put 


1  "  I  have  met  with  no  remark  here,  which  seems  more  pertinent  than  that  of  Mons.  Amy- 
raut ;  who  thinks  that  the  same  persons  might  possess  many  of  these  gifts,  and  sustain  several 
of  these  characters,  which  were  not  stated  distinct  offices  ;  and  might  be  called  helpers  in  refer- 
ence to  their  great  dexterity  and  readiness  to  help  those  in  distress  ;  and  governments  in  regard 
to  that  genius  for  business,  sagacity  in  judging  the  circumstances  of  affairs,  and  natural 
authority  in  the  councils  and  resolutions  of  societies,  which  rendered  them  fit  to  preside  on 
such  occasions."  —  Doddridge.  ^'■Family  Ezpositor,^^  in  loco.  Works.  (Leeds,  1805.)  Vol. 
ix.  p.  67. 

"It  may  indeed  have  happened,  that  one  individual  was  endowed  with  many  gifts,  and 
sustained  two  of  the  offices  here  enumerated ;  nor  was  there  in  this  any  inconsistency." — 
Calvin.    Comment,  in  loco. 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  course  that  one  individual  might  enjoy  at  the  same  time  several  gifts,  and 
that  the  principal  Apostles  especially  possessed  many  Charismata."  —  Olshausen.  Comment. 
ICor.  xu:7-ll.   (Kendrick's  Ed.)   Vol.  iv.  p.  345. 

"  He  here  passes  to  the  abstract  nouns  from  the  concrete  ;  perhaps  because  no  definite  class  of 
persons  was  endowed  with  each  of  the  following,  but  they  were  promiscuously  granted  to  all 
orders  in  the  Ghnrch.''''— Alf or d.    Comment,  in  loco.  Vol.  ii.  p.  552. 

2  Works.   (Ed.  1852.)    Vol.  iv.  p.  439. 

3  The  Tigurine  version  of  the  New  Testament  by  Petrus  Cholinus,  and  Rodolphus  Gualthe- 
rus  — on  the  basis  of  that  of  Erasmus  — (A.  D.  1543)  translates  the  verse  thus:  —  "Et  alios 
quidem  posuit  Deus  in  Ecclesia,  primum  Apostolos,  deinde  prophetas,  tertio  doctores,  delude 
potestates  [the  Vulgate  says  here  —  *■  virtutes '']  deinde  dona  sanatiorum,  eubsidia,  gubemar 


74  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

here  to  a  concrete  use/  standing  for  workers  of  miracles  ;  thus,  by  its 
necessary  significance,  excluding  itself  from  any  application  to  the 
Church  in  its  permanent  existence,  after  the  day  of  miracles  should 
cease. 

Gifts  of  Healings  (xaQiafxara  ia(idtcov — charismata  iamatbn)  has, 
as  obviously,  reference  to  those  miraculous  endowments  for  the  cure 
of  disease,  which  were  conferred  by  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  early 
Christian  teachers  ;^  and  by  the  same  necessity  is  in  like  manner  ex- 
cluded from  our  consideration  as  a  permanent  element  m  the  agencies 
'  of  the  Church. 

Helps  {avTili^ipEig  —  antilepseis)  primarily  means  laying  hold  of, 
whence  it  gets  a  secondary  meaning  of  laying  hold  of  for  the  purpose 
of  aiding  and  supporting,  whence  it  derives  the  sense,  in  which  it 
seems  to  be  employed  here  (its  only  use  in  the  New  Testament,)  of 
those  who  help,  or  support.  The  most  natural  reference  of  it  is  to  the 
deacons  of  the  Church,  whose  office  it  exactly  describes.^ 

Governments  (xv^SQvr^asig  —  huherneseis)  is  a  word  found  no  where 
else  in  the  Bible.     Its  primary  significance  is  sufficiently  plain  from 


tiones,  genera  linguamm."  And  Qualtherus,  in  his  ^^Homilia  in  Priorem  D.  PatUi  Epistolam 
ad  Corinthios,^^  comments  on  this  translation  thus:  —  "Quarto  loco  Potestates  numerantur, 
pro  iis,  qui  potcstatem  in  Ecclesia  legitimam  exercent.  Erant  hi  seniores,  qui  disciplinaB 
praefecti  eos  corrigebant,  qui  aliquid  contra  hominis  Christiani  ofiBcium  fecissent :  impios  vero 
et  contumaces  majori  spiritus  virtute  cohercebant."  —  (Ed.  1572.)  p.  198. 

1  "  More  Hebraeo  abstractum  pro  concreto,  ut  in  sequeatibus." —  Grotiu^.  Comment,  in  loco. 
"  Abstractum  pro  concreto,  etiam  in  sequeatibus." — Bengel.   "  Gnomon,''^  in  loco. 

"  After  that,  such  as  have  the  gift  of  miracles."— Heyiyn.  ^^Lectures."  (Ed.  1671.)  Vol.  iL 
p.  116. 

"Here,  and  in  what  follows,  abstract  terms  are  used  for  concrete  —  miracles  mean  men 
endowed  with  the  power  of  working  miracles." — Hodge.    Com.ment.  m  loco.  p.  202. 

2  "  Eos  qui  morbos  sanandi  potestatem  accepere." — Grotius.    Comment,  in  loco. 

3  "  Hoc  est,  sustentare  infirmos."  —  Athanasius,  in  loco.   (Ed.  Erasmi,  1522.) 
"Nimirumqui  egentibus  opemferunt,  sive  illi  EcclesisB  domestici,  sive  peregrini  fiierint." 

—  GucUtherus,  in  loco. 

"  Pro  auxiliatoribus  vel  adjutoribus  eorum  quos  supra  memoravit  supremos  ecclesiae  doc- 
tores,  in  spiritualibus  ministeriis."  —  Brennius.   '■'■NotcR,''''  etc.  in  loco.   (Ed.  1664.)  p.  34. 

"  Qui  aliis  opitulantur  per  opera  misericordiae,  seu  spiritualia,  seu  corporalia,  circa  aegros, 
pauperes,  miseros,  peregrinos,  nempe  Diaconos." — Menochius  and  Tirinus,  in  loco,  in  ^^  Synop- 
sis Criticomm.''^  (Ed.  Lond.  1676.)  Vol.  iv.  p.  493. 

"  Whether  he  meaneth  Deacons,  or  Widows  [deaconesses]  elsewhere  mentioned  as  helpful  in 
the  case  of  the  poor,  or  some  that  assisted  the  pastors  in  the  government  of  the  Church,  or 
some  that  were  extraordinary  helps  to  the  Apostles  in  the  first  plantation  of  the  Church,  is 
very  hard  to  determine." — PooWs  '■'■Annotation^ .,'''>  in  loco. 

"  Persons  qualified  and  appointed  to  help  the  other  oflScers  of  the  Church,  probably  in  the 
care  of  the  poor  and  the  sick.  These,  according  to  the  common  understanding  from  Chrysos- 
tom  to  the  present  day,  were  deacons  and  deaconesses." — Hodge.    Comment,  in  loco.  p.  262. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  75 

its  relationship  to  the  verb  which  means  to  steer,  thence  to  pilot, 
and  thence  to  direct  or  govern  a  state.  But  what  specific  persons,  if 
any,  it  means  here  to  describe  in  the  primitive  Church  as  being  its 
pilots,  or  directors,  it  is  difficuk  to  determine.^  Our  Presbyterian 
friends,  of  course,  take  it  as  referring  to  those  ruhng  elders  which 
make  an  essential  part  of  their  system ;  and  if  there  had  been  any 
ruling  elders  —  in  their  sense  —  in  the  primitive  Church,  or  if  there 
were  any  allusion  to  such  officers  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament, 
this  might  be  a  good  proof-text  for  them.  But  —  if  we  mistake  not 
—  we  shall  see,  by  and  by,  that  there  is  no  good  ground  for  such 
reference.^  The  most  probable  sense  of  the  word  appears  to  be  that 
which  refers  it  to  the  pastors  who  presided  over  the  administration 
of  government  in  the  Church  ;  ^  though  Lightfoot,  Horsley,  Mosheim, 
and  Macknight  may  be  right  in  their  opinion  that  the  term  was  in- 
tended to  designate  persons  of  special  discretion  and  prudence  to 
whom  the  spirit  of  wise  counsel  was  imparted  in  miraculous  measure 
by  the  Holy  Ghost. 


1  Gualtherus  supposes  here  a  reference  to  a  class  of  officers  in  the  Church  to  meet  the  want 
arising  from  Paul's  prohibition  to  "  go  to  law  before  the  unjust,  and  not  before  the  saints." 
(1  Cor.  vi:  1.)  He  says:  —  Quibus  comprehenduntur  viri  politici,  qui  in  rebus  hujus  seculi 
quosuis  juvabant,  et  causas  cognoscebant,  si  quae  inter  Christianos  orirentur.  Nam  ut  Capita 
sexto  dictum  est,  nolebant  Apostoli,  ut  qui  Christum  profitebantur  apud  Ethnicorum  tribun- 
aUa  de  fortunis  suis  aliisque  rebus  ad  banc  vitam  pertinentibus  litigarent.  Prseficiebantur 
ergo  ejusmodi  causis  viri  prudentes  et  rerum  usu  exercitati,  quorum  authoritate  et  consilio 
lites  dirimerentur." — Horn.  p.  196. 

2  See  page  00. 

3  "  Ahi  hosce  Presbyteros  regentes  designari  putant,  1  Cor.  xii :  28,  ubi  inter  munera  nom- 
minantur  gubemationes,  sed  locum  inspicienti  manifestum  est,  loqui  illic  Apostolum  de  muneri- 
bus  extraordinariis  :  turn,  incertum  est,  quale  donum  hoc  fuerit ;  et  ex  nuda  voce  argumentum 
Telle  petere,  admodum  frivolum  est."— LimftorcA.    'T/ieoZo^.  Christ.''''   Lib.  vii.  Cap.  iv.  p.  751. 

"  Hi  sunt  qui  ex  Syriaco  pastores  (Eph.  iv:  1)  qui  prmsunt  (Rom.  xii:  8)  alibi  seniores,  qui 
Bingulas  regebant  ecclesias." — Grotius.    Comment,  in  loco. 

"  Qui  antea  doctor es.,  a  docendo  dicti,  lidemque  hie  gubemationes,  a  regimine  illis  commisso." 
Hammond.    Comment,  in  loco. 

Neander  teaches  that  the  persons  here  referred  to  were  those  elsewhere  styled  '  elders '  and 
'overseers.' — '■'■Planting  and  Training.''''   Book  iii.  chap.  v. 

"  Who  these  persons  ['  governments ']  were,  it  is  difficult  to  determine  with  certainty  ;  but  it 
is  most  probable  that  elders  or  bishops  are  principally  vaQaxiV— Davidson.  ^'■Ecclesiastical  Pol- 
ity of  the  New  Testament. ''"'  p  193. 

"  When  these  '  helps  '  and  the  extraordinary  functionaries  are  left  out  of  the  Apostolic  cata- 
logues, it  is  rather  singular  that,  in  the  passage  addressed  to  the  Ephesians,  we  have  nothing 
remaining  but  '  Pastors  and  Teachers.'  and  in  that  to  the  Corinthians,  nothing  but  '  Teachers  ' 
and  '  governments.'  There  are  good  grf)unds  for  believing  that  these  two  residuary  elements 
are  identical  —  the  '  Pastors '  mentioned  before  the  Teachers  in  one  text,  being  equivalent 
to  the  '  governments '  mentioned  after  them  in  the  other.     Nor  is  it  strange  that  those 


76  CONGREGATIONALTSJI. 

The  phrase  Diversities  of  tongues  {ytvij  ylcooaojv  —  gene  glosson) 
so  evidently  refers  to  that  miraculous  gift  'of  tongues/  which, 
whether  it  enabled  its  recipients  to  speak  in  languages  unknown  to 
them  before,  or  only  to  interpret  such  languages  from  the  lips  of 
others  (see  Barnes  on  1  Cor.  xii :  10),  was  an  unusual  bestowment 
upon  the  Church  during  the  exigencies  of  its  earliest  years,  ceasing 
afterward,  as  to  make  any  delay  upon  its  exact  significance  foreign 
to  the  necessities  of  the  inquiry  which  we  have  now  in  hand. 

We  infer  then  that  of  these  five,  whatever  was  included  in  the 
terms  *  miracles,*  *  gifts  of  healings,'  and  '  diversities  of  tongues,'  be- 
longed to  the  age  of  miracles,  and  had  no  perpetual  relation  to  the 
Church,  and  describes  no  permanent  office  in  it ;  while  *  helps  '  and 
*  governments'  refer  to  those  officers  usually  spoken  of  as  Pastors 
and  Deacons.  So  that  all  the  names  which  the  New  Testament  uses 
to  describe  the  permanent  officers  of  a  Christian  Church,  reduce 
themselves  to  these,  and  their  synonymes,  namely :  Pastors,  Teachers, 
Elders,  Bishops  or  Overseers,  and  Deacons.  If  now  it  be  true  that 
Pastors,  Teachers,  Elders,  and  Bishops  or  Overseers,  are  all  different 
names  for  one  and  the  same  laborer,  it  will  follow  that  this  office, 
and  that  of  the  Deacon,  constitute  the  only  two  permanent  offices 
which  Christ  has  designated  for  his  churches.  To  the  proof  of  that 
proposition  we  now  advance. 

2.  The  first  class  of  permanent  officers  which  Christ  designated 
for  his  Churche^j  —  to  take  oversight  of  their  spiritual  concerns  — 
is  indiscriminately  spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament  under  the  names 
of  Pastor,  Teacher,  Presbyter  or  Elder,  and  Bishop  or  Overseer, 
The  truth  of  this  proposition  we  propose  to  establish  by  reference  to 
three  sources  of  evidence,  namely :  the  opinion  of  men  of  learning 
and  candor  who  have  investigated  the  facts  ;  the  declarations  of 
ecclesiastical  history,  and  of  the  early  writers  of  the  Church ;  and 
the  testimony  of  Scripture  itself.     In  order  to  facilitate  as  much  as 


entrusted  with  the  ecclesiastical  government  should  be  styled  Pastors  or  Shepherds  ;  for  they 
are  the  guardians  and  rulers  of  the  '  flock  of  God.' " — Kilkn's  ^^ Ancient  Church.''''  p.  231. 

"  The  conception  of  offices  is  subordinated  to  that  of  gijis.  Thus  there  was  in  the  Church 
no  separate  prophetic  office,  but  the  Apostles  were  at  the  same  time  prophets,  although  every 
prophet  was  not  neces.sarily  an  Apostle;  so  also  the  so-called  'Evangelists,'  i.e.  travelling 
teachers,  who  preached  where  as  yet  no  Church  had  arisen.  The  teachers,  however,  were  alike 
teachers  proper  and  rulers  (Kv0tpvCivTti)\  their  official  appellation  was  irpeaPvTepoi  or  £7rtff- 
icoTTot," — Olshausen.    Comment,  in  loco.  (Kendrick's  Ed.)  p.  848. 


^HEKCB    CONGREGATIOXALIS:.!    IS.  77 

possible  the  compression  of  this  argument,  it  may  be  premised  here 
that  all  writers  who  limit  the  number  of  the  officers  of  the  primitive 
Church  to  two  —  one  of  which  is  that  of  Deacon  —  do  for  substance, 
of  course,  affirm  the  identity  of  Pastors,  Teachers,  Elders,  Bishops, 
and  Overseers,  as  constituting,  under  whichever  name,  the  other 
class ;  and  that  the  main  question  always  must  be  whether  Bishops 
are  identical  with  Pastors,  Teachers,  and  Elders,  or  officially  superior 
to  them. 

(1.)  We  adduce  the  opinion  of  eminent  and  candid  scholars  who 
have  investigated  the  facts.  Wickliffe  — who  struck  the  first  spark 
of  the  Reformation — (a.  d.  1324-1384)  spake,  in  the  face  of  the  over- 
bearing hierarchy  of  his  time,  as  follows :  —  "  By  the  ordinance  of 

Christ,  Priests  and  Bishops  were  all  one I  boldly  assert  one  thing, 

namely,  that  in  the  primitive  Church,  or  in  the  time  of  Paul,  two 
orders  of  the  clergy  were  sufficient ;  that  is,  a  priest  [presbyter]  and 
a  deacon.  In  like  manner  I  maintain  that,  in  the  time  of  Paul,  pres- 
byter and  Bishop  were  names  of  the  same  office.  All  other  degrees 
and  orders  have  their  origin  in  the  pride  of  Caesar.  If  indeed  they 
were  necessary  to  the  Church,  Christ  would  not  have  been  silent  re- 
specting them."  ^  John  of  Goch  (a.  d.  1400-1475),  also  a  '  Reformer 
before  the  Reformation,'  has  left  on  record  his  judgment  of  the  equality 
of  the  priest,  or  presbyter,  with  the  bishop ;  stoutly  maintaining  that 
the  position  of  a  priest  is  the  highest  position  in  the  Church.^  Luther, 
in  his  Essay  "  concerning  the  power  of  the  Pope,"  concludes,  from  his 
examination  of  various  passages  of  the  New  Testament,  that  "  it  is 
proved  that  Bishop  and  Presbyter  are  the  same  ;"*  and  he  sums  up 
the  whole  essay  by  saying,  "  therefore,  by  Divine  Law,  the  Pope  is 
neither  superior  to  the  Bishops,  nor  the  Bishops  superior  to  the  Pres- 
byters," ^  etc.  Calvin,  in  his  exposition  of  the  teachers  and  ministers 
of  the  Church,  says  :  "  In  giving  the  name  of  Bishops,  Presbyters, 
and  Pastors  indiscriminately  to  those  who  govern  churches,  I  have 


1  As  quoted  in  Conant's  ^^ English  Bible."  (New  York,  1856.)  p.  69. 

2  "  Ordo  socerdotalis  est  summus  in  ecclesia  militante.  .  .  .  Ipse  ordo  est  superior  aliis  et 
consummativus  aliorum  omnium  ordiuum,"  etc.  —  ^^Dialogus  de  quatuor  Erroribus,'"  etc.,  in 
Walch's  ^^Monimenta  Med.  JEvi."  (Goettingen,  1760.)   Vol.  i.  fasc.  iv.  p.  105. 

s  "la  quo  manifestissime  comprobatur,  eundem  esse  Episcopum  atque  Presbyterum."  — 
"De  Potestate  Paper.''   Lutheri  Opera.   (Ed.  Jense,  1612.)  Vol.  i.  p.  279. 

4  "  Ergo  nee  Papa  est  Episcopis,  nee  Episcopua  est  superior  Presbyteris  jure  dirino,"  etc. — 
Ibid.  p.  283. 


78  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

done  it  on  the  authority  of  Scripture,  which  uses  the  words  as  syn- 
onymous."^ So,  in  commenting  on  1  Tim.  iii :  1,  he  says:  "it  is 
necessary  to  observe  what  it  is  that  Paul  calls  '  the  office  of  a  Bishop ;' 
and  so  much  the  more,  because  the  ancients  were  led  away,  by  the 
custom  of  their  times,  from  the  true  meaning ;  for,  while  Paul  in- 
cludes generally  all  pastors,  they  understand  a  Bishop  to  be  one  who 
was  elected  out  of  each  college  to  preside  over  his  brethren.  Let  us 
remember,  therefore,  that  this  word  is  of  the  same  import  as  if  he  had 
called  them  ministers,  or  pastors,  or  presbyters."^  He  reiterates  the 
same  sentiment  in  his  comments  on  Acts  xx :  28,  Philip,  i :  1,  and 
1  Pet.  V :  2,  and  in  his  treatise  on  "  the  necessity  of  reforming  the 
Church."^  Cranmer  says.  Bishops  and  Priests  [presbyters]  "were 
not  two  things,  but  both  one  office  in  the  beginning  of  Christ's  relig- 
ion."^ Melancthon,  in  his  "Outlines  of  Theology,"  uses  the  terms 
Bishop  and  Presbyter,  or  Elders,  as  synonymes.^  Myles  Cov- 
ERDALE  (a.  D.  1488-1569) — though  himself  Bishop  of  Exeter  — 
says,  the  Apostles  "  gave  unto  every  Church  their  peculiar  bishop,  to 
keep  the  Lord's  flock,  whom  they  also  called  priest,  or  elder  ;  giving 
them  a  title  of  reputation,  either  because  of  their  age,  or  by  reason 
of  their  excellent  gravity  and  virtuous  conversation.  ...  As  for  high 
Bishop,  under  Christ,  they  knew  none.  They  had  all  like  author- 
ity," ^  etc.  PoLANUS  argues  that  Presbyters  and  Bishops  are  the 
same  by  divine  enactment,  "  that  is,  they  administer  the  same  office, 
in  the  same  way,  and  by  the  same  authority."'  Limborch  declares 
it  to  be  the  "  common  opinion  of  Protestants,  that  the  Scriptures 
recognize  no  difference  between  the  Bishops  and  Presbyters,  or 
Elders,  so  that  the  two  terms  are   interchanged  as  equivalents."^ 

1  '■^ Institutes. ^^   {Calvin  Trans.  Soc.  translation.)  Vol.  iii.  p.  64. 

2  Comment,  in  loco.  {Calvin  Trans.  Soc  translation.)  p.  75. 

8  Calvin'' s  Tracts.   {Calvin  Trans.  Soc.  translation.)  Vol.  i.  p.  155,  156. 

4  "  Questions  and  Answers  concerning  the  Sacraments.''*  Miscellaneous  Writings,  and  Letters 
of  Thomas  Cranmer.   (Parker  Society's  Ed.  1846.)  p.  117. 

5  "Episcopi  seu  Presbyteri  dicebantur,  qui  docebant,  lavabant,  et  benedicebant  MensaB. 
Diaconi,  qui  eleemosynas  partiebantur  inter  inopes."  —  '"'■Hyp.  Theol.''*  De  Par.  Men.  Dom. 
(Ed.  Lipaiae,  1821.)  p.  157- 

6  '^Remains  of  Bishop  Coverdale.'>*  (Parker  Society's  Ed.)  p.  464. 

7  "  lidem  Episcopi  Tocantur  etiam  Presbyteri.  .  .  .  Proinde  etiam  Presbyteri  et  Episcopi  sunt 
jure  divino  pares  ;  id  est,  administrant  idem  officium,  eodem.  modo  et  eadem  autoritate,"  etc. — 
^'Syntagma  TheologicR  "   (Ed-  Genevae,  1617.)   p.  538. 

8  "Communis  Protestantium  sententia  est,  nullum  inter  Episcopos  et  Presbyteros  Scrip- 
turam  agnoscere  discrimen ;  eo  quod  voces  illae,  tanquam  sequipollentes,  inter  se  permu- 
tentur.-'— "  rAeo^og-JcE  Christiance.^*  Lib.  vii.   Cap.  iv.  sec.  5.  p.  749. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISil   IS.  79 

Episcopius,  in  remarking  upon  1  Tim.  v :  19,  says,  "by  'Elder* 
here  we  may  miderstand  Bishop,  as  the  terms  are  used  in  the  Scrip- 
tures as  one  and  the  same."^  Arminius  argues  that,  after  the  days 
of  miracles,  the  offices  of  the  Church  were  imposed  "  mediately  on 
those  who  were  called  pastors  or  teachers,  and  bishops  or  priests, 
[presbyters]  who  were  placed  over  certain  churches.  .  .  .  These  are 
so  ordered  that  one  person  can  discharge  them  all  at  the  same  time."^ 
WoLLEBius  teaches,  that  "  the  name  of  Bishop  rightfully  belongs  to 
all  Pastors."  ^  Ames  says,  that  the  "  Elders  of  one  congregation,  in 
the  same  sense,  are  also  called  Bishops  in  the  Scriptures."^  John 
Robinson  habitually  uses  these  terms  as  synonymous,  as  where  he 
says,  "  whensoever  the  Scriptures  do  mention  elders,  or  bishops,  either 
in  respect  of  their  calling  or  ministration,  they  still  speak  of  them,  as 
in  or  of,  such  and  such  particular  churches,  and  none  otherwise."  ® 
Lord  Peter  King  says,  as  the  Apostles  "  came  to  any  city,  town, 
or  village,  they  published  to  the  inhabitants  thereof  the  blessed  news 
of  life  and  immortality  through  Jesus  Christ,  constituting  the  first 
converts  of  every  place  through  which  they  passed  Bishops  and  Dear 
cons  of  those  churches  which  they  there  gathered."  ^  Sclater,  in 
his  reply  to  Lord  King's  volume,  confesses  that  "  the  names  of  Pres- 
byter and  Bishop  were  indifferently  used  at  first,"  "^  and  then  attempts 
to  show  that  there  was  no  "  danger  of  misunderstanding  about  it," 
in  that  Apostolic  age.  Turretin  argues,  that  the  terras  Bishop  and 
Presbyter  were  originally  identical  in  use,  and  that  the  Episcopal 
distinction  between  them  is  a  subsequent  and  arbitrary  one,  grow- 
ing out  of  the  custom  of  the  Church,  and  human  wisdom,  rather 
than  from  the  will  of  God.^     Staffer  refers  to  the  same  identity, 


1  "  Per  Preshyterum  enimhoc  loco  intelligi  potest  Episcopus,  prout  in  Scripturis  pro  uno  et 
eodem  accipiuntur."— "Lecfiones  Sacrce  in  Cap.  ii.  &  iii.  Apoc.'^  Works.  (Ed.  Rotterdam,  1666.) 
Vol.  ii.  p.  552. 

2  ^'■Private  Disputations.^^    Writings.   (Nichol's  Ed.)  Vol.  ii.  p.  150. 

3  "  Pastoribus  omnibus  nomen  Episcopi  competit."  —  ^^Christianas  Theologice.^^  Lib.  i. 
Cap.  26,  p.  128. 

i  ''Marrow  of  Sacred  Divinity.-"    Lib.  i.  Cap.  39,  sec.  28. 
6  Works.   (London  Ed.  1851.)  Vol.  ii.  p.  416. 

0  ''Enquiry  into  Constitution,  etc.  of  the  Primitive  Ovurch.^^  (Ed.  1712.)  p.  10. 

1  "Original  Draught  of  the  Primitive  Church.'^  (Ed.  1833.)  p.  181. 

8  "  Episcopale  Regimen  aliud  est  primitivum  et  Apostolicum,  quod  idem  est  cum  Presbyte- 
rali,  quod  ab  Apostolis  ex  Christi  voluntate  et  praecepto  institutum  est :  aliud  secundarium  et 
Ecclesiasticurn  a  Presbyteriali  distinctum,  Ecclesia}  consuetudine,  et  humano  consilio,  potiua 
quam  dispositionis  DominicsB  veritate  introductum." — Opera.  (Ed.  Ec^inburgh.)  Vol.  iii.  p.  176. 


80  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

and  considers  Paul  and  Peter  both,  (Tit.  i.,  Acts  xx  :  17,  28,  1  Pet. 
V :  1,  2)  as  rendering  it  certain.^  Richakd  Hooker  concedes  that 
the  same  officers  of  the  Church,  "  in  their  writings  they  [the  Apos- 
tles] terca  sometimes  presbyters,  sometimes  bishops."  ^ 

Milton  devotes  his  whole  treatise  on  "  Prelatical  Episcopacy  "  to 
the  proof  of  the  position  for  which  we  are  now  arguing,  in  which,  after 
a  thorough  review  of  those  arguments  from  *the  Fathers'  accus- 
tomed to  be  alleged  in  proof  of  the  superiority  of  Bishops  over 
Presbyters,  he  sums  up  his  argument  by  saying :  —  "I  do  not  know, 
it  being  undeniable  that  there  are  but  two  ecclesiastical  orders, 
bishops,  and  deacons,  mentioned  in  the  Gospel,  how  it  can  be  less 
than  impiety  to  make  a  demur  at  that,  which  is  there  so  perspicuous, 
confronting  and  paralleling  the  sacred  verity  of  St.  Paul  with  the 
offals  and  sweepings  of  antiquity,  etc.  .  .  .  Certainly  if  Christ's  Apos- 
tle have  set  down  but  two,  then,  according  to  his  own  words,  though 
he  himself  should  unsay  it,  and  not  only  the  Angel  of  Smyrna,  but 
an  angel  from  heaven  should  bear  us  down  that  there  be  three,  St. 
Paul  has  doomed  him  twice:  'Let  him  be  accursed;'  for  Christ  has 
pronounced  that  no  tittle  of  his  word  shall  fall  to  the  ground ;  and 
if  one  jot  be  alterable,  it  is  possible  that  all  should  perish ;  and  this 
shall  be  our  righteousness,  our  ample  warrant,  and  strong  assurance, 
both  now  and  at  the  last  day,  never  to  be  ashamed  of,  against  all  the 
heaped  names  of  angels  and  martyrs,  councils  and  fathers,  urged  upon 
us,  if  we  have  given  ourselves  up  to  be  taught  by  the  purest  living  pre- 
cept of  God's  word  only ;  which,  without  more  additions,  nay,  with  a 
forbidding  of  them,  hath  within  itself  the  promise  of  eternal  life,  the 
end  of  all  our  wearisome  labors,  and  all  our  sustaining  hopes.  But 
if  any  shall  strive  to  set  up  his  ephod  and  teraphira  of  antiquity 
against  the  brightness  and  perfection  of  the  Gospel,  let  him  fear  lest 
he  and  his  Baal  be  turned  into  Bosheth.  And  thus  much  may  suffice 
to  shew,  that  the  pretended  Episcopacy  cannot  be  deduced  from  the 
Apostolical  times." ^     Lardner  says,  "there  were  at  the  very  time 

1  "  Non  magna  tamen,  aut  temporibus  Apostolicis  plane  nulla,  inter  Episcopum  et  Presby- 
terum  fuit  differentia,  cum  nomina  haec  inter  se  commutentur.  Ita  Apostolus  Paulus  jussifc 
Titum  Presbyteros  constituere,  requisita  autem  illorum  indicans  Episcopum  describit  iisdem 
nomen  Presbyterorum  et  Episcoporum  datur.  Similiter  Apostolus  Petrua  id  facit.-'  —  ^'Insti- 
tutiones  Theologicg.'^  (Ed.  Tiguri,  1743.)  Vol.  i.  p.  431. 

*  "  Ecclesiastical  Polity."   Book  vii.  ch.  6,  sec.  1. 

8  Milton's  Prose  Works j  (Bohn's  Edition.)  Vol.  u.  p.  436.  See  also  pp.  457-469,  and  Vol.  i. 
pp.  433-440. 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  81 

of  forming  such  societies,  [the  early  churches]  or  soon  after,  ap- 
pointed in  them  officers  and  ministers,  called  bishops,  or  elders,  or 
pastors,  or  teachers ;  and  deacons :  men  who  had  been  before  ap- 
proved, as  persons  of  integrity  and  capacity  for  the  work  to  which 
they  were  appointed.  (1  Tim.  iii :  10.)  The  peculiar  work  of  the 
former  of  whom  was  to  preach  the  word  and  feed  the  flock  of  which 
they  were  overseers,  with  wholesome  and  sound  doctrine  and  instruc- 
tion, *  to  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long-suffering  and  doctrine ;' 
of  the  latter — the  ^serving  of  tables,'"  etc.^  Gibbon  says  of  the  early 
Christian  churches  :  —  "  the  public  functions  of  religion  were  solely 
intrusted  to  the  estabhshed  ministers  of  the  Church,  the  bishops  and 
the  presbyters  ;  two  appellations  which,  in  their  first  origin,  appear  to 
have  distinguished  the  same  office,  and  the  same  order  of  persons. 
The  name  of  Presbyter  was  expressive  of  their  age,  or  rather  of 
their  gravity  and  wisdom.  The  title  of  Bishop  denoted  their  inspec- 
tion over  the  faith  and  manners  of  the  Christians  who  were  commit- 
ted to  their  pastoral  care."  ^  Baxter  says,  "  what  is  meant  by 
^ETtiGxoTtovg  (epishopous)  bishops  or  overseers,  here  [Acts  xx :  28]  is 
thus  far  agreed  on :  that  they  were  officers  appointed  to  teach  and 
guide  those  churches  in  the  way  to  salvation ;  and  that  they  are  the 
same  persons  that  are  called  elders  of  the  Church  of  Ephesus  before, 
and  bishops  here.  ...  By  a  pastor  or  bishop  here  is  meant  an  officer 
appointed  by  Christ  for  the  ordinary  teaching  and  guiding  a  particu- 
lar Church  and  all  its  members,  in  order  to  their  salvation,  and  the 
pleasing  of  God."  ^  Doddridge  says,  the  first  class  of  officers  in  the 
Church  "  are  frequently  called  Elders  and  Presbyters,  as  the  Jews  used 
to  call  those  who  presided  in  their  ecclesiastical  or  civil  assemblies ; 
and  from  their  office  of  overseeing  the  people,  the  name  of  kma'Aonoi  or 
JBishopSjWSLS  also  given  them,  and  whatever  alteration  might  afterwards 
be  made  in  the  sense  of  that  word,  and  whatever  distinction  might 
early  be  introduced  between  bishops  and  presbyters  as  signifying  two 
different  ranks  of  ministers,  it  is  certain  that  in  the  New  Testament  the 
words  are  used  promiscuously.  Bishop  Hoadley  and  Dr.  Hammond 
do  both  of  them  allow  this ;  and  it  is  Dr.  Hammond's  opinion  that 
there  were  only  presbyters  or  bishops,  and  deacons,  in  each  Church, 


1  Works.   (Ed.  London,  1838.)  Vol.  ii.  p.  14. 

2  ''Decline  and  FaK."    (Smith's  Milman's  Ed.  1854.)  Vol.  u.  p.  191 
8  ''Gildas  ScUvianus.'''  (Carter's  Ed.  1860.)  pp.  61,  69. 

6 


02  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

at  first."  *  Owen  says,  "  ia  the  whole  New  Testament,  bishops  and 
presbyters,  or  elders,  are  everyway  the  same  persons,  in  the  same 
office,  have  the  same  function,  without  distinction  in  order  or  degree 
—  which  also,  as  unto  the  Scripture,  the  most  learned  advocates  of 
Prelacy  begin  to  grant." ^  John  Cotton  says,  "it  is  apparently 
contradictory  to  the  institutions  given  by  Paul  in  the  Epistles  to 
Timothy  and  Titus,  to  set  up  any  eminent  or  transcendent  Bishop 
in  the  Church  in  respect  of  rule,  or  exercise  of  office  of  more  honour 
and  power  than  pertaineth  to  all  the  ministers  of  the  Word."  ^  John 
Davenport  says,  "  we  read  of  Bishops  in  the  New  Testament,  but 
what  ?  not  one  Bishop  over  many  churches,  but  many  Bishops  over 
one  Church;  not  Diocesan, but  Congregational  Bishops — the  Bishops 
which  the  Apostles  acknowledge  to  be  Christ's  ordinance,  to  continue 
in  the  Christian  Church,  are  Congregational  Elders,"  etc.*  Thomas 
Hooker  says,  "  though  the  nakedness  of  the  assertion^  that  would 
difference  Episcopus  and  Presbyter  by  Divine  right,  hath  been  of 
former,  and  much  more  of  latter  times  laid  open  to  the  view  of  the 
world,  so  that  there  needs  nothing  to  be  added  here  ;  yet  to  leave  it 
upon  record,  that  we  concur  with  these  worthies  in  the  defence  of  the 
same  truth,  we  shall,  in  short,  set  down  our  witness  against  them  ; " 
and  then  devotes  several  pages  to  the  proof  that  Bishops  "  have  no 
distinct  operations  from  Presbyters."  ^  Cotton -Mather  says,  "  the 
churches  of  New  England  think  that  the  Apostles  knew  of  no  Bish- 
ops, but  only  those  pastors,  whereof  there  may  be  several  in  a 
parity,  feeding  one  small  congregation ; "  and  quotes  many  Fathers 
and  learned  men  to  the  effect  that  it  is  "as  plam  as  the  noon- 
day sun  could  make  any  thing  in  the  world,"  that  "Bishops  and 
Presbyters  were  of  old  the  very  same."  ®  Dr.  Charles  Chauncy 
pubhshed  a  volume  in  Boston,  in  1771,  devoted  to  the  refutation  of 
the  Episcopal  theory  of  the  inequality  of  Bishops  and  Presbyters, 
which  he  sums  up  by  declaring  that  that  theory  has  "  no  support, 
either  in  point  of  right,  or  practice,  from  any  thing  met  with  in  the 
writers  within  the  two  first  ages  of  the  Christian  Church."  ^   Edward 

1  ^'■Lectures  on  Divinity.^'*    Works.  Vol.  v.  p.  299. 

2  '■'■True  Nature  of  a  Gospel  Church.^^    Works.   Vol.  xvi.  p.  44. 
8  ^^  Way  of  the  Churches.''^  p.  48. 

4  '■'■Power  of  Congregational  Churches,''''  etc.  p.  79. 

6  ^^  Survey  of  the  Summe  of  CJiurch  Discipline.'^   Part  ii.  p.  22. 

6  ^'■Ratio  DisciplincB.'"   (Boston,  1728.)   pp.  196-205. 

7  ^^  Compleat  View  of  Episcopacy.''^  p.  474. 


"WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  83 

WiGGLESWORTH  says  —  after  an  examination  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, covering  one  hundred  and  nineteen  pages — "  we  plainly  find  but 
one  order  of  officers,  the  eleven  Apostles,  left  in  the  Church  by  Christ 
himself  at  his  ascension  into  heaven  ;  and  one  order  more,  the  seven 
Deacons,  instituted  afterwards  by  the  Apostles  under  the  conduct  of 
the  Spirit  of  God.  These  two  orders  are  unquestionably  of  Divine 
Institution ;  but  more  we  cannot  find  to  be  so.  We  desire  to  pre- 
serve to  each  of  these  all  the  ordinary  powers  they  were  entrusted 
with  by  divine  appointment,  and  not  to  thrust  either  of  them  into 
employments  which  the  wisdom  of  God  never  allotted  to  them.  We 
are  far  from  saying  that  either  of  these  offices  was  temporary.  We 
only  affirm  that  the  former  of  them  had  some  powers  at  the  begin- 
ning which  were  extraordinary  and  temporary,  and  expired  with  the 
persons  they  were  committed  to ;  but  that,  as  to  their  ordinary  powers, 
they  have  been,  and  shall  be  succeeded  to  the  end  of  the  world,  by 
Presbyters  or  Bishops,  whom  we  everywhere  find  in  Scripture  to  be 
one  and  the  same  order."  ^  Thomas  Foxcroft  says,  "  we  know  of 
no  ministers  in  Scripture  that  were  Presbyters  in  the  modern  (Church 
of  England)  sense  of  the  word.  We  deny  any  such  officer  in  the 
Church  as  a  mere  Presbyter ;  that  is,  a  minister  of  the  word  destitute 
of  Episcopal  power  over  the  flock.  The  Elders,  or  Presbyters,  we 
read  of  in  1  Peter  v :  1,  were  Bishops.  Such  Bishops  we  are  for, 
and  such  Elders ;  but  we  know  of  no  institution  for  Elders  that  do  not 
rule  over  the  flock,  or  for  Bishops  that  rule  over  Elders.  We  are  for 
Congregational  Bishops,  and  such,  we  conclude,  were  the  Presbyters 
that  ordained  Timothy."  ^  Jonathan  Dickinson  argues  that  the 
New  Testament  ascribes  to  Bishops  and  Presbyters  a  community  of 
names  of  office  and  of  order ;  that  there  are  no  Gospel  ministers  in  a 
regularly  constituted  Church,  but  Bishops,  and  that  Presbyters  are 
the  only  ordinary  ministers  of  the  Gospel;  that  Presbyters  have 
power  of  ordination,  and  that  the  Apostles  were  Presbyters,  while 
there  is  no  mention  of  Bishops  superior  to  Presbyters  —  from  all 
which  he  infers  that  by  the  Scriptures  the  two  offices  are  coordinate, 
and  says  "  there  is  a  community  of  order  and  office,  as  well  as  of 
name,  between  Bishop  and  Presbyter r  ^    Thomas  Walter  says, 

[   ^  '^'^  Sober  Remarks  on  the  *  Modest  Proof .^ ''■   (Boston,  1724.)   p.  120. 
2  ^' Ruling  and  Ordaining  Poioer  of  Cong.  Bishops  defended,"  etc.   (Boston,  1724.)   p.  8. 
s  ^^ Defence  of  Presbyterian  Ordination.'"    (Boston,  1724.)  pp.  40-43. 


84  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

"  not  only  is  a  Presbyter  called  a  Bishop,  but  a  Bishop  is  called  a 
Presbyter.  Which  is  of  more  force  than  if  either  a  Presbyter  were 
called  a  Bishop,  and  a  Bishop  called  nothing  else  but  Bishop,  or  a 
Bishop  were  called  Presbyter,  and  Presbyter  called  only  Presbyter;*' 
whence  he  argues  the  complete  identity  of  the  two.^  Thomas  Shep- 
ARD  says,  "  we  read  in  Scripture  of  many  Elders  and  Bishops  in  the 
same  Church  (Acts  xx:  28),  but  never  of  any  one  ordinary  minister, 
or  officer  over  many  churches,  either  to  govern  or  to  baptize."^ 
William  Jameson  says,  "  under  the  Gospel  the  Apostles  retaining 
the  name,  and  the  manner  of  ordination,  but  not  conferring  that  judi- 
ciary power  by  it,  which  was  in  use  among  the  Jews ;  to  shew  the 
difference  between  the  Law  and  the  Gospel,  it  was  requisite  some 
other  name  should  be  given  to  the  Governors  of  the  Church,  which 
should  qualify  the  importance  of  the  word  Presbyters  to  a  sense 
proper  to  a"  Gospel  state ;  which  was  the  original  of  giving  the  name 
tmamuoi  (Bishops)  to  the  Governors  of  the  Church  under  the  Gos- 
pel;  —  a  name  importing  duty  more  than  honor,  and  not  a  title  above 
Presbyter,  but  rather  used  by  way  of  diminution  and  qualification  of 
the  power  implied  in  the  name  of  Presbyter."  *  John  Wise  says, 
"  though  there  were  some  distinctions  in  point  of  a  titular  dignity  and 
degree  between  a  Bishop  and  a  Presbyter ;  yet  they  were  really 
equal  in  order,  and  in  the  nature  of  their  trust.  For  that  in  an  Ec- 
clesiastical sense,  Bishops  and  Presbyters  are  synonymous  terms,  set- 
ting forth  the  same  office ;  and  signify  no  more  but  an  elder,  a  pastor, 
ruler  or  overseer  of  a  Church."  ^  Dr.  Samuel  Hopkins  says  of  the 
two  offices  appointed  by  Christ  for  his  churches,  "  of  these.  Pastors, 
Elders,  Presbyters  or  Bishops  are  the  first  and  most  important.  By 
these  names,  not  different  orders,  higher  and  lower,  or  different 
offices  are  meant ;  but  one  and  the  same  person,  in  one  and  the  same 
office,  is  called  by  all  these  names,  and,  therefore,  they  denote  the  same 
office."  ^  Dr.  Emmons  says,  "  in  a  Christian  Church  there  are  only 
two  distinct  officers.  Bishops  and  Deacons.  The  Bishop,  in  the  Apos- 
tolic times,  was  a  mere  pastor,  teacher,  or  watchman,  without  any 


1  ^'■Essay  upon  that  Paradox,  'Infallibility  may  sometimes  mistake,' "  (Boston,  1724.)  p.  100. 

2  ''Wholesome  Caveat  for  a  time  of  Liberty. '^    Works.   (Ed.  1853.)   Vol.  iii.  p.  333 

3  "Fundamentals  of  the  Hierarchy  examined  and  disproved.''^   (Glasgow,  1697.)  p.  208. 

4  "Vindication  of  the  Government  of  New  England  Churches.''^   (Ed.  1772.)  p.  9. 

5  Works.  (Ed.  1852.)  Vol.  U.  p.  75. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  85 

superiority  or  power  over  any  of  his  fellow  pastors.  He  had  only 
the  watch,  and  care,  and  instruction  of  the  particular  Church  in 
which  he  was  placed."  ^  Dr.  Dwight  devotes  two  sermons  to  the 
proof  "  that  there  are  but  two  classes  of  permanent  officers  in  the 
Christian  Church,  designated  in  the  Scriptures,"  the  first  of  which 
"  is  spoken  of  under  the  names  Elders,  Pastors,  Bishops,  Teachers," 
and  the  second  "  under  that  of  Deacons."  ^  Dr.  J.  M.  Mason  says, 
"  that  the  terms  BisJiop  and  Presbyter  in  their  application  to  the  first 
class  of  officers  [of  the  church]  are  perfectly  convertible,  the  one 
pointing  out  the  very  same  class  of  rulers  with  the  other,  is  as  evi- 
dent as  the  *  sun  shining  in  his  strength.'"  *  Dr.  Woods  says,  "  the 
Presbyters  were  Bishops.  The  two  words  were  used  interchange- 
ably. They  were  applied  to  the  same  men,  and  denoted  the  same 
office."  ^  Guizot's  exposition  of  these  officers  of  the  early  Church 
is :  —  "  in  'the  various  Christian  congregations,  there  were  m^i  who 
preached,  who  taught,  who  morally  governed  the  congregation,"  — 
making  all  as,  at  first,  one  order.^  Coleridge  says,  "  in  the  primitive 
times,  and  as  long  as  the  churches  retained  the  form  given  them  by 
the  Apostles  and  Apostolic  men,  every  community,  or  in  the  words 
of  a  Father  of  the  second  century  (for  the  pernicious  fashion- of 
assimilating  the  Christian  to  the  Jewish,  as  afterward  to  the  Pagan, 
ritual  by  false  analogies,  was  almost  coeval  with  the  Church  itself), 
every  altar  had  its  own  bishop,  every  flock  its  own  pastor,  who  de- 
rived his  authority  immediately  from  Christ,  the  universal  Shepherd, 
and  acknowledged  no  other  superior  than  the  same  Christ,  speaking 
by  his  Spirit  in  the  unanimous  decision  of  any  number  of  bishops  or 
elders,  according  to  his  promise,  *  where  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them.'"*  Dr. 
Smyth  says,  "throughout* the  whole  New  Testament  the  words  Pres- 
byter and  Bishop,  with  their  cognate  terms,  both  as  they  refer  to  the 
office  and  its  incumbent,  are  used  interchangeably,  and  as  perfectly 
synonymous."  "^     Dr.  Bennett  says,  "  of  the  ordination  of  a  Pres- 


1  Works.  (Ed.  1860.)  Vol.  iii.  p.  580. 

2  Sermons,  CL.  CLI.    Works.  (Ed.  1819.)  Vol.  v.  pp.  167-200. 

3  '■'•Essays  on  Episcopacy.''^    Works.   Vol.  ii.  p.  41. 

4  '■'■Church  Government.'^    Works.   Vol.  iii.  p.  517. 

5  <-^History  of  Civilization.''''  (Hazlitt's  Trans.)    Vol.  i.  p.  50. 

6  "Wea  of  the  Christian  Church.'^    Works.   (Shedd's  Ed.)   Vol.  vi.  p.  100. 

7  '■'■Presbytery  and  not  Prelacy  the  Scriptural  and  Primitive  Polity.^^  (Ed.  Gla^ow.)  p. 


86  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

byter  that  was  not  a  Bishop,  the  Scriptures  say  nothing ;  for  their 
Presbyters  are  Bishops,  and  their  Bishops  Presbyters,"  etc.'^  Dr. 
Coleman  devotes  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  pages  of  his  very 
learned  work,  entitled,  "  The  ApostoHcal  and  Primitive  Church "  to 
the  proof  of  the  original  equality  of  Bishops  and  Presbyters,  shewing 
that  they  had  the  same  names,  titles,  and  functions,  and  that  the  fact 
of  their  original  equality  continued  to  be  acknowledged  even  down  to 
the  time  of  the  Reformation.'^  Dr.  Schmucker  says,  "  the  different 
names  applied  to  ministers,  such  as  bishops,  presbyters  or  elders,  etc., 
are  used  as  convertible  terms,  and  therefore  must  imply  equality  of 
rank."  ^  Dr.  N.  W.  Taylor  said,  "  there  are  but  two  classes  of 
officers  known  in  the  Church,  Bishops  —  or  Elders,  or  Presbyters,  or 
Pastors,  or  Teachers  —  and  Deacons  ;  and  but  one  order  of  ministers. 
All  of  these  except  Deacons  are  the  same,  and  have  the  same  powers, 
duties,  and  qualifications."  *  Sawyer  says,  "  Bishops  are  in  the  New 
Testament  called  Presbyters ;  and  their  titles  are  used  interchangeably 
to  denote  the  same  officers."  ^  Dr.  Breckenridge  says,  Grod  gives 
to  each  Church  "  a  Pastor  or  Bishop  —  or  two,  or  three,  or  more,  if 
need  require.  And  all  these  Pastors,  Bishops,  and  Elders,  are  alike 
Presbyters ;  and  all  jointly  rule,  and  the  Pastors  or  Bishops  besides 
this,  labor  in  word  and  doctrine."  ^  Dr.  Pond  states  it,  "  with  entire 
confidence  "  as  "  the  doctrine  of  the  New  Testament,  that  there  are 
but  two  distinct  orders  or  classes  of  officers  in  the  Church  of  Christ ; 
the  one  having  charge  of  the  spiritual  concerns  of  the  Church,  the 
other  of  its  temporal  concerns ;  the  one  commonly  denominated 
bishops  or  presbyters,  the  other  deacons."'  Dr.  Davidson  says, 
*' there  were  no  gradations  of  office  among  elder,  bishop,  pastor, 
and  teacher  in  the  Apostolic  age.  Character  and  talents  were  the 
only  ground  of  distinction.  There  was  'then  a  simplicity  in  the 
arrangements  of  God's  house,  unlike  the  cumbrousness  introduced  in 
later  times  of  degeneracy."  ^  Punchard  says,  "  the  case  is  so  plain 
that  no  one  need  doubt  that  the  same  order  of  men  are  called  either 
Elders,  Bishops,  or  Overseers,  interchangeably."  ^     Upham  says,  "  it 

1  '■'-Theology  of  the  Early  Church:^  p.  159.  2  (Ed.  1853.)  pp.  124-245. 

S  ^''Elements  of  Popular  Theology.''   (Ed.  1860.)   p.  221. 

4  MSS.  report  of  Lectures.   '■''The  Church.''  6  <-^  Organic  Christianity."  p.  H. 

»  ^^Knowledge  of  God  subjectively  considered."  p.  635.       7  "TAe  Oiurch."  p.  71. 

8  "  Ecclesiastical  Polity  of  the  New  Testarnent."   p.  157. 

«  ^^  View  of  Congregationalism."  (Ed.  1860.)  p.  94. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS. 

would  seem  that  Elders  and  Bishops,  or  Overseers,  wha1 
be  their  appropriate  duties,  and  whatever  relation  they  might  sustain 
to  the  subordinate  office  of  Deacons,  were  one  and  the  same  grade,  or 
species,  of  Church  officer."  ^  Garratt  says,  "  at  first  this  threefold 
distinction  of  Bishops,  Elders,  and  Deacons  does  not  appear  to  have 
prevailed,  at  least  universally ;  the  words  Bishop  and  Elder  being  used 
interchangeably  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  and  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles." ^  Dr.  Vaughan  says,  "  the  word  Bishop,  which,  beyond  con- 
troversy, is  synonymous  with  the  word  Elder  or  Presbyter,  occurs  in 
such  a  manner  in  the  introduction  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  as 
to  show  that  more  than  one  person  in  that  Church  sustained  this 
office ;  and  that  among  the  persons  sustaining  it,  there  was  no  official 
precedence."  ^  Dr.  Hill  says,  the  same  persons  whom  the  writers 
of  the  New  Testament,  in  speaking  of  other  churches,  call  Presbyters, 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  are  termed  Bishops,  and  adds,  "  as 
Presbyters  are  thus  called  Bishops,  so  the  Apostles,  the  highest  office- 
bearers in  the  Church,  did  not  think  it  beneath  them  to  take  the 
name  of  Presbyters."  ^  Jacobson  says,  "  in  the  Bible  the  two  words 
[Presbyter  and  Bishop]  are  synonymous,  so  that  the  offices  of  Over- 
seer and  of  Elder  are  the  same.  .  .  .  There  is  not  the  least  trace  of 
difference  between  Ima^ouog  and  7ZQea§vr&Qog,*'  ^  F.  W.  Newman 
says,  these  officers  of  the  Church  "were  ordinarily  called  Elders 
from  their  age,  sometimes  Bishops  from  their  office.  .  .  .  That  during 
St.  Paul's  lifetime  no  difference  between  Elders  and  Bishops  yet  ex- 
isted in  the  consciousness  of  the  Church,  is  manifest,"  etc.^  Prof. 
Plumptre  says,  "  that  the  two  titles  were  originally  equivalent,  is 
clear,"  etc."^  Conybeare  and  Howson  say,  "  of  the  offices  concerned 
with  Church  government,  the  next  in  rank  to  that  of  the  Apostles  was 
the  office  of  Overseers  or  Elders,  more  usually  known  (by  their  Greek 
designations)  as  Bishops  or  Presbyters.  These  terms  are  used  in  the 
New  Testament  as  equivalent,  the  former  (tmanoTTog)  denoting  (as 
its  meaning  of  overseer  implies)  the  duties,  the  latter  (TZQea^vreQog) 


1  ''Ratio  DisciplincB.''   (Ed.  1844.)  p.  80. 

2  '■'Scriptural  View  of  the  Constitution  of  a  Christian  Church.'^''    (London,  1846.)    p.  155> 

3  "Causes  of  the  Corruption  of  Christianity.''''  p.  416. 

4  "Lectures  in  Divinity.''^   (Carter's  Ed  )  p.  723. 

5  Bomherger''s  Herzog''s  "Real  Encyclopedia.'^  Art.  "Bishop.^^  Partly,  p.  435. 

6  Kitto^s" Cyclopedia.''^   Art.  '''Bishop.-^   Vol.  i.  p.  333. 

7  Smithes  "Dictionary  of  the  Bible. '^  Art.  "Bishop. '>^  Vol.  i.  p.  217. 


88  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

the  rank,  of  the  office."  ^  Ullman  says,  "  the  Apostolical  age,  at 
least  in  its  first  stadium,  knew  no  difference  between  Presbyter  and 
Bishop." 2  Dr.  Hall  says,  "the  two  Apostles,  Peter  and  Paul, 
entirely  agree  in  making  the  Bishop,  the  Presbyter,  the  Pastor,  one 
and  the  same  office  in  one  and  the  same  person.  .  .  .  The  Bible 
Bishop  is  uniformly  the  Pastor,  or  one  of  the  Pastors' of  a  congrega- 
tion ;  never  is  the  name  Bishop  given  to  a  Diocesan,  or  an  Apostle, 
either  by  the  Apostles,  or  in  the  Apostolic  age.  It  is  absolutely  cer- 
tain, that  for  a  hundred  years  after  Christ,  the  name  Bishop,  whether 
used  by  Apostles  or  Fathers,  signified  the  Pastor  of  a  Church ;  never 
a  person  holding  a  degree  above  that  office."  ^  Dr.  Bacon  says,  "  it 
is  admitted  on  all  sides,  that  in  the  New  Testament,  the  words  trans- 
lated respectively  '  Bishop '  and  *  Elder '  are  used  interchangeably."  ^ 
Mr.  Wellman  says,  "  those  who  held  this  office  [that  of  the  Pastor- 
ship] in  the  time  of  the  Apostles  were  called  Elders,  Bishops,  Over- 
seers, Presbyters,  Teachers,  Guides ;  all  these  terms  being  used  to 
designate  one  office — just  as  we  now  use  the  terms  Minister  and 
Pastor  to  designate,  not  two  distinct  orders  in  office,  but  the  same 
order."  ^ 

To  these  witnesses  from  the  ranks  of  the  learned  in  all  ages,  since 
the  dark  ages,  and  of  all  schools  of  faith,  might  be  added  as  many 
from  the  professed  commentators  on  the  Bible.  We  append  only 
a  few  of  the  more  striking  of  their  testimonies.  Athanasius,  ex- 
plaining Phil,  i :  1,  and  Tit.  1 :  5,  fully  recognizes  the  identity  of 
Bishops  with  Elders.^  Cardinal  Cajetan  distinctly  affirms  the 
same  original  identity,  in  his  comment  on  Acts  xx:  28.'  Gual- 
THERUS  emphatically  bears  the  same  testimony ;  in  his  homily  on 
1  Cor.  xii :  28,  denouncing  the  assumptions  of  the  Romish  hierarchy, 
and  asserting  that  all  the  officers  which  the  Church  of  Christ  needs 

1  ''Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  PauV   (London.   4to  Ed.  1853.)  Vol.  i.  p.  465. 

2  ''Reformers  before  the  Reformation:'   (Clark's  Ed.)  Vol.  i.  p.  124. 
8  "Puritans  and  tkeir  Principles.'^    (Ed.  1847.)   p.  310. 

*  Review  of  Chapin's  "Primitive  Church.''    New  Englander.   (1843.)  Vol.  i.  p.  405. 
6  "Church  Polity  of  the  Pilgrims."   p.  34. 

6  "  Cum  impositionem  manus  Presbyterii,  hoc  est,  episcoporum.  .  .  .  Presbyter!  Episcopi 
nomen  sortiebantur,  ut  qui  curae  populi  invigilarent,  purgarentque,  et  illuminarent  quos  foret 
necesse."— CoOTwcnf.  Phil.  i:l.   (Ed.  Argent.   1522.)  folio  133. 

"  Presbyteros  hoc  loco  Episcopos  dicit,  sicuti  et  in  epistola  ad  Timotheum  prsedixerat." 
—Ibid.    Tit.  i :  5.  folio  194. 

7  "  nine  apparet  quodeosdem  appellat  hie  Episcopos  quos  prius  appellavit  Lucas  presbyteros, 
officii  siquidem  nomen  est  Episcopus." — Comment.   Acts  xx :  28.  (Ed.  Venice,  153D.)  p.  231. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  89 

for  its  spiritual  direction,  are  Pastors  and  Teachers.^  Zanchius 
says,  in  his  remarks  on  Phil,  i:  1,  that  Paul,  by  Bishops,  here  means 
the  Elders  in  the  city  of  Philippi,  and  its  suburbs.*^  Gomarus,  in 
commenting  on  the  same  passage  says,  that  "  by  Bishops,  Paul  here 
intends  the  Elders  or  Pastors  of  a  Church."  ^  Grotius,  in  expound- 
ing Acts  XX :  17,  says  that  "the  Elders  of  the  churches  are  called 
Bishops,  because  they  were  the  overseers  of  the  flock ; "  and  in  his 
comment  on  verse  28  of  the  same  chapter,  he  adds,  they  "  were  called 
Pastors,  because  Pastors  (Shepherds)  are  [_8maxo7Zoi  noiiiviov  —  epis- 
hopoi  poimniou]  Bishops  [overseers]  of  their  flocks."  *  Brennius, 
in  commenting  on  1  Pet.  v :  1,  uses  the  terms  Elder,  Bishop,  and 
Pastor,  as  synonymous.^  Poole's  Annotations  set  down  "  Bish- 
ops," as  used  by  Paul  in  Phil,  i :  1,  as  meaning,  with  the  deacons,  the 
"  two  orders  of  ordinary  standing  officers  which  are  appointed  for  the 
Church."  *  Henry,  in  remarking  upon  Phil,  i :  1,  says  it  refers  to 
"  the  Bishops  or  Elders,"  and  "  the  Deacons,"  adding  —  "  these  were 
all  the  offices  then  known  in  the  Church,  and  of  Divine  appointment."  ^ 
Bengel,  on  Acts  xx :  28,  says,  that  at  that  time  the  title  of  Bishop 
pertained  to  all  Presbyters.^  Macknight,  in  his  exegesis  of 
Phil.  i.  1,  refers  to  the  fact  that  the  Elders  whom  the  Apostles  set 
over  the  churches  were  called  Bishops.®  Adam  Clark  bears  sim- 
ilar  testimony   in   his   exposition   of  Phil,  i :  1,  and  1  Pet.  v :  2.^*^ 

1  "  Omnes  enim  illi  antichristi  creaturae  sunt,  neo  digni,  qui  in  Ecclesia  locum  aliquem 
habeant.  Nobis  sufficiat,  si  in  Ecclesia  fidi  et  idonei  Pastores  atque  Doctores  sint,"  etc.— Horn, 
in  1  Epis.  ad  Cor.   (Ed.  1572.)   p.  197. 

2  "  Intelligit  parochos  omnes  in  urbe  et  pagia  ejus,  ut  sit  synecdoche  in  voce  Philippis.'" — 
In  loco.   Poole's  Syn.  Crit.   Vol.  iv.  p.  831. 

8  "Per  Episcopos  hie  intelligit  Presbyteros,  sive  pastores  Ecclesiae."  —  In  loco.  Poolers 
Syn.  Crit.   Ibid. 

4  "  Vocantur  iidem  et  Episcopi,  nempe  quia  inspectores  erant  gregis.  .  .  .  Explicat  nometi 
muneris,  quod  erat  pastores^  nam  pastores  sunt  inspectores  gregis." — In  loco.  Opera.  (Ed. 
1679.)  Vol.  ii.  p.  642. 

6  "  Presbyteria,  quorum  proprium  munus  est  pascere  gregem  Dei,  et  episcoporum  ac  pas- 
torum  instar  curam  ejus  gerere,  se  tanquam  compresbyterum  coiyungit  tantus  Apostolus,  ut 
eos  propositio  sui  ipsius  exemplo  ad  officium  faciendum  exsuscitet." — Com.  1  Pet.  v :  i.  ^^ Notes 
in  Secundum  Partem,  New  Test."  p.  127. 

6  Vol.  u.  (Ed.  1700.)  In  loco. 

1  In  loco.   '•'■Comprehensive  Commentary."  Vol.  v.  p.  407. 

8  "  Hoc  tempore  appellatio  episcoporum  nondrm  erat  solennis  et  propria,  sed  competit  in 
omnes  Presbyteros,"  etc. — Com.  in  loco.    (Ed.  Tubingae,  1855.)  p.  501. 

9  "  That  the  Apostles  ordained  Bishops  and  Deacons  in  all  the  churches  which  he  planted,  I 
think  evident  from  Acts  xiv  :  23,  where  they  are  called  by  the  general  name  of  Elders,"  etc. 
—'■'-Epistles."  (Ed.  1841.)  p.  356. 

10  ^'■Episcopois  —  the  overseers  of  the  Church  of  God  and  [deacons]  those  who  ministered  to 


90  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Whitby  says,  the  "  names  were  then  common  to  both  orders,  the 
Bishops  being  called  Presbyters,  and  the  Presbyters,  Bishops."^ 
Scott,  in  remarking  upon  Acts  xx:  17,  says,  "the  same  persons  are 
in  this  chapter  called  elders  or  presbyters,  and  overseers  or  bishops  ; 
it  must  therefore  be  allowed  that  these  were  not  distinct  orders  of 
ministers  in  the  Church  at  that  time,"  etc.^  The  "  Assembly's  An- 
notations "  say,  upon  the  word  *  overseer '  (Acts  xx :  28),  "  this 
name  of  Bishop  here,  as  elsewhere,  is  put  for  a  Pastor  of  the  Churchy 
or  minister  of  the  word."  ^  Bloomfield  says,  on  Acts  xx :  17,  "  the 
best  commentators,  ancient  and  modern,  have,  with  reason,  inferred 
that  the  terms  [elder  and  bishop]  as  yet  denoted  the  same  thing."  ^ 
Baumgarten  affirms  the  same  identity  in  his  exposition  of  Acts 
XX :  28.^  Eadie  says,  on  Phil,  i :  ij  "the  official  term  hma^iOTTog, 
(Bishop),  of  Greek  origin,  is  in  the  diction  of  the  New  Testament 
the  same  as  jiQea^vreQog  (Elder)  of  Jewish  usage  —  the  name  ex- 
pressive of  gravity  and  honor."  ^  Hodge  says,  on  Eph.  iv:12, 
"the  Apostle  intended  to  designate  the  same  persons  as,  at  once, 
pastor  sand  teachers.  The  former  term  designates  them  as  emaxoTtoi 
(Bishops  —  overseers),  the  latter  as  instructors.  Every  Pastor  or 
Bishop  was  required  to  be  apt  to  teach." '  Barnes  says,  on  Acts 
XX :  28,  "  this  passage  proves  that  the  name  was  applicable  to  Elders, 
and  that  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  the  name  bishop  and  presbyter, 
or  elder,  was  given  to  the  same  class  of  officers,  and  of  course  that 
there  was  no  distinction  between  them."  ^  Alexander  sums  up  his 
remarks  on  the  same  passage  by  saying,  "  there  is  no  tenable  ground, 
therefore,  but  the  obvious  and  simple  one,  now  commonly  adopted 
even  by  Episcopalians,   that   bishops   and   presbyters,   when   Paul 


the  poor,  and  preached  occasionally.  There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  paper  wasted  on  the  in- 
quiry, '  who  is  meant  by  bishops  here,  as  no  place  could  hare  more  than  one  Bishop  I '  To 
which  it  has  been  answered :  '  Philippi  was  a  metropolitan  see,  and  might  have  several 
Bishops  I '  This  is  the  extravagance  of  trifling.  I  believe  no  such  officer  is  meant  as  we  now 
term  J5/s/iop." — Commentary.  Vol.  vi.  p.  490. 

"This  is  another  proof  that  Bishop  and  Presbyter  were  the  same  order  in  the  Apostolic 
times,"  etc.— /6Jd.  p.  868. 

1  Cited  in  "  Comprehensive  Com.^'  Vol.  v.  p.  407.      2   Commentary.    (Ed.  1812.)  Vol.  y. 

3  In  loco.    (Ed.  London.   1657.)  *  Comment,  in  loco. 

6  "He  speaks  of  the  Elders  of  Ephesus  as  the  Bishops  and  Pastors  whom  the  Holy  Spirit 
had  appointed." — Apol.  Hist.   Sec.  xxx. 

6  ^^  Commentary  on  the  Greek  Text  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians.''^  p.  4. 

T  ''■  Commentary  on  Epis.  to  the  Ephesians.''^  p.  226. 

8  Commentary  on  Acts.  p.  280. 


) 

WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM:   IS.  91 

spoke,  and  when  Luke  wrote,  were  the  same  thing ;  a  fact  affirmed 
also  by  Theodoret  and  Jerome."  ^  Hackett  reaches  the  same  con- 
clusion.'^ Mack  even  —  a  modem  Roman  Catholic  expositor  — 
concedes  the  full  identity  of  the  New  Testament  Presbyters  and 
Bishops  ;  ^  and  Alford  —  himself  a  Church  of  England  man  — 
speaks  very  strongly  in  the  same*  vein.  He  says,  on  Acts  xx :  17, 
"the  English  version  has  hardly  dealt  fairly  in  this  case  with  the 
sacred  text,  in  rendering  tmaxoTtovg^  (v.  28,)  ^  overseers  ;^  whereas  it 
ought  there,  as  in  all  other  places,  to  have  been  '  bishops,^  that  the 
fact  of  elders  and  bishops  having  been  originally  and  Apostolically 
synonymous,  might  be  apparent  to  the  ordinary  English  reader,  which 
now  it  is  not."*  So,  on  1  Tim.  iii :  1,  he  says,  "it  is  merely  laying 
a  trap  for  misunderstanding  to  render  the  word,  at  this  time  of  the 
Church's  history,  *  the  office  of  a  Bishop.'  The  kmaynmoi  [Bishops] 
of  the  New  Testament  have  officially  nothing  in  common  with  our 
Bishops.  .  .  .  The  identity  of  the  Bishop  and  Elder  in  Apostolic  times 
is  evident  from  Tit.  i :  5-7."  ^ 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  in  this  connection  that  the  Peshito-Syriac 
version  of  the  New  Testament —  supposed  to  have  been  made  within 
less  than  one  hundred  years  after  Christ  —  renders  Phil,  i :  1,  thus  : 
"  Paul  and  Timothy,  servants  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,  to  all  the  saints 
that  are  in  Jesus  the  Messiah  at  Phihppi,  with  the  elders  and  dea- 
cons." ®  MiCHAELis  uses  this  fact  as  an  argument  in  proof  of  the 
venerable  antiquity  of  this  version  —  that  it  was  evidently  made 
when  no  difference  between  Bishops  and  Presbyters  was  as  yet 
known.' 


1  Commentartj  on  Acts.  Vol.  ii.  p.  250. 

2  "  The  Elders,  or  Presbyters,  in  the  official  sense  of  the  term,  were  those  appointed  in  the 
first  churches  to  watch  over  their  general  discipline  and  welfare.  With  reference  to  that  duty, 
they  were  called  also  iKiaKoiroi,  i.  e.  superintendents  or  bishops.  The  first  was  their  Jewish 
appellation,  transferred  to  them  perhaps  from  the  similar  class  of  officers  in  the  synagogues ; 
the  second  was  their  foreign  appellation,  since  the  Greeks  employed  it  to  designate  such  rela- 
tions among  themselves.  In  accordance  with  this  distinction,  we  find  the  general  rule  to  be 
this :  those  who  are  called  Elders  in  speaking  of  Jewish  communities,  are  called  Bishops  in 
speaking  of  Gentile  communities.  Hence  the  latter  term  is  the  prevailing  one  in  Paul's  Epistles. 
That  the  names,  with  this  difference,  were  entirely  synonymous,  appears  from  their  interchange 
in  such  passages  as  Acts  xx  :  17,  28,  and  Tit.  i :  b-i:'— Comment  on  Acts.    (Ed.  1858.)   p.  236. 

3  "  Commentar  uber  die  Pastoralbriefe  des  Ap.  Pau^ws."— (Tubingen,  1836.)   p.  60. 

4  Crreek  Testament.  (London  Ed.)  Vol.  ii.  p.  2)9. 

5  Ibid.   Vol.  iii.  p.  305.  • 

6  Murdork's  Translation    (Ed.  1851.)  p.  359. 
T  "Der  Enleitungy^'  etc.  T.  1.  p.  m.  ''65,  sq. 


92  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Having  glanced,  thus,  at  the  vast  amount  of  evidence  furnished  by 
the  opinion  of  the  learned,  in  proof  of  the  proposition  before  us,  we 
are  prepared  to  advance  to  the  consideration  of  the  evidence  in  the 
same  direction,  which  is  found :  — 

(2.)  In  the  declarations  of  Ecclesiastical  History,  and  of  the  early 
writers  of  the  Church.  As  the  .latter  must  largely  furnish  the  basis  for 
the  judgments  arrived  at  by  the  former,  we  will  take  them  first  in  order. 

Clement  of  Rome  (who  wrote  about  a.  d.  96)  knew  only  two 
orders  of  Church  officers ;  the  first  of  which  he  speaks  of  indifferently 
as  Presbyters,  or  Bishops.  In  his  first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  he 
says,  "  the  Apostles  preaching  in  countries  and  in  cities,  appointed 
the  first  fruits  of  their  labors  bishops  and  deacons,  having  proved 
them  by  the  Spirit."  ^  And  he  adds,  in  another  place,  "  it  would  be  a 
great  sin  to  reject  those  who  have  faithfully  performed  the  duties  of 
the  office  of  a  Bishop.  Blessed  are  those  Elders  who  have  finished 
their  course  and  gone  to  their  reward,"^ — evidently  referring,  in  both 
sentences,  to  the  same  men  under  different  names.  It  is  particularly 
noticeable  that  when  speaking  of  those  officers  whose  authority  will 
suitably  regulate  the  Church,  he  especially  says,  "  the  flock  of  Christ 
can  abide  in  peace  only  when  Elders  have  been  set  over  it."^ 
PoLYCARP,  (who  wrote  about  A.  d.  140,  and  was  a  pupil  of  the 
Apostle  John),  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  evidently  was  unac- 
quainted with  any  Bishops  in  the  churches,  inasmuch  as  he  never 
mentions  the  name  of  such  an  officer.  He  opens  his  Epistle  by  say- 
ing, "  Polycarp,  and  the  Elders  that  are  with  him,  to  the  Church  at 
Philippi,"  etc.^  He  next  exhorts  that  Church  to  "  be  subject  to  the 
elders  and  deacons,^'  ^  and  then  goes  on  to  enlarge  upon  the  qualifica- 
tions necessary  for  the  right  discharge  of  the  offices  of  both  elder  ® 

1  "Karaxwpas  ovv  Kal  n6\ets  KTipvcraovres  KaBiaravov  rdf  ditapx^i  avTcov,  SoKifiaaavres 
rw  TTveviiari,  eig  tinaK6tTox>i  koI  SiaKdvovs  rdv  fxeXXdvrojv  iriaTeveiv."  —  1.  Epist.  ad  Cor. 
Sec.  xlu.  (Ed.  Tubingae,  1839.)  p.  57. 

2  "'A|<a/JTta  yap  ov  /jiipKa.  fjpTv  larai,  lav  rovf  dpifiiTToys  xai  hotcog  npoffiveyKOVTas  to. 
Scjpa  Trjs  e7n(7Koirfjs  dnoffd'Koyptv.  MaKupiot  ol  irpoodoiiropfiaavTCs  npeajSirEpoii  o'irives 
lyKapTTuv  Kal  reXeiav  taxov  rfjv  dvdXvciv.'' — Rid.   Sec.  xliv.  p.  68. 

3  "  Movov  TO  TToipviov  Tov  xptoTffw  eiprivtvtTOiy  liCTa  rcoi'  KaOesTafievoiv  Trpecpvrepcov.^^  — 
Ibid.  Sec.  Uy.  p.  64. 

*  *'  UoXvKapiTos  Koi  ol  (tUv  avroi  irptalSvTepoi  tij  cKKXriffia,^^  etc. — ^ns.  ad  Phil.  (Ed.  Tu- 
bingae, 1839.)  p.  117. 

6  "Aio  6iov  dTrix^crOai  dnd'-iravrav  tSvtoiv,  iiroracraonevovs  rots  frpea^vTepois  Koi  Siaxd- 
voii,  wj  Oeo)  Kal  xp'o''""." — Ibid. — Sec.  v.  p.  120. 

6  Ibid.   Sec.  yi.  p.  120. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM    IS.  93 

and  deacon,^  but  makes  no  allusion  to  any  such  office  as  that  of  a 
Bishop  in  the  sense  in  which  the  word  is  now  used,  or  in  any  sense 
different  from  that  which  makes  it  entirely  synonymous  with  *  elder ' 
or  '  presbyter/  Justin  Martyr,  (died  a.  d.  165),  refers  to  only  one 
office  in  the  Church  in  his  time,  besides  that  of  the  deacon.  In  de- 
scribing the  order  of  worship  then  practised,  he  says,  "there  is 
brought  to  him  who  presides  over  the  brethren,  bread  and  a  cup  of 
water  and  wine,  etc.  And  he  who  presides  having  given  thanks,  and 
the  whole  assembly  having  expressed  their  assent,  they  whom  we  call 
deacons  distribute  the  bread,"  etc.^  He  in  another  place,  also,  describes 
their  worship,  specifying  the  same  officers,  and  never  alluding  to 
others.^  Whence  we  gather  the  fair  inference  that  there  were  no 
Bishops  —  in  the  modern  sense,  in  his  time,  but  that  the  only  officer 
beside  the  deacon,  was  this  president,  or  Elder.  Irenjsus,  (died 
a.  d.  202,)  —  a  disciple  of  Polycarp,  and  so  a  spiritual  grandson  of 
John  —  often  uses  the  terms  Elder  and  Bishop  with  reference  to  the 
same  persons,  and  in  a  sense  entirely  synonymous.  In  his  "  Treatise 
against  Heresies,"  he  says  of  Marcion  and  certain  others,  "  when  we 
appeal  to  that  Apostolic  tradition,  which  by  the  succession  of  Elders 
remains  in  the  churches,  they  resist  the  tradition,  assuming  to  be 
more  wise,  not  only  than  the  Elders,  but  than  the  very  Apostles,  and 
to  have  found  out  the  exact  truth."  *  He  then  immediately,  in  the 
next  section,  refers  to  these  same  Elders  as  "  Bishops,  instituted  by 
the  Apostles  in  the  churches."  ^  So,  in  another  place,  he  says,  "  we 
ought  to  obey  those  Elders  in  the  Church,  who — as  we  have  shown — 
have  succession  from  the  Apostles,  who,  with  the  office  of  a  Bishop, 
received  also  the  charism  of  truth,"  etc.^  Again,  on  the  next  page, 
he   says,  after  having  alluded   to  the  kind  of  teachers  who  fairly 

1  Ibid.  Sec.  v.  p.  120. 

2  ""ETretro  npoacpipEraL  rw  TrpoeffTdri  tcjv  dSeX^cJv  apros  Kal  TroTfjptov  v6aT0Si  etc.  Ei^flp- 
iffTrjaavTos  <5e  tov  npneaTuiTOi,  kuI  iitev^rjyifiaavTog  rravrds  tov  Xaov,  ol  KoKovyitvoi  nap  jjpXv 
SiaKovoi,  SiSoacTiv  tKatrroi  tuv  napovTwv  neraXa/SsLv.'" — Apol.  I.  c.  Ixv.  p.  82. 

8  Ibid.  I.  c.  IxTU.  p.  83. 

*  "  Quum  autem  ad  earn  iterum  traditionem,  quae  est  ab  Apostolis,  quae  per  successiones 
Presbyterorum  in  Ecclesiis  custoditur,  provocamus  eos  ;  adversantur  traditioni,  dicentes  se  non 
solum  Presbyteris,  sed  etiam  Apostolis  exsistentes  sapientiores,  sinceram  invenisse  veritatem." 
— '■'■Contra  Hcer:''  Lib.  iii.  Cap.  2    Opera.   (Massuet's  Ed.  Venice,  1734.)   Vol.  i.  p.  175. 

6  "  Eos  qui  ab  Apostolis  instituti  sunt  Episcopi  in  Ecclesiis,"  etc.— Ibid.  Cap.  3.  Vol.  i.  p.  175. 

6  "  Quapropter  eis  qui  in  Ecclesia  sunt,  Presbyteris  obaudire  opertet,  his  qui  successionem 
habent  ab  Apostolis,  sicut  ostendimus ;  qui  cuth  Episcopatus  successione  charisma  Teritatis 
certum,  secundum  placitum  Patris  acceperunt." — Ibid.  Lib.  iv.  c.  26.  Vol.  i.  p.  262. 


94  CONGREGATIONALISSr. 

represent  the  Apostles,  "  such  elders  the  church  cherishes ;  concerning 
whom,  also,  the  Prophet  says :  '  I  will  give  your  princes  in  peace, 
and  your  bishops  in  uprightness,"*  —  which  last  is  the  Septuagint 
rendering  of  Isaiah  Ix :  17.^  So  again,  further  on  in  the  same  trea- 
tise, he  speaks  of  "  the  Bishops  to  whose  care  the  Apostles  left  the 
churches,"  ^  and  then  says,  "  they  who  give  up  preaching  to  the 
Church,  prove  their  ignorance  of  the  duty  of  the  consecrated  Elders" 
etc.^  So  he  calls  Polycarp,  whom  he  had  elsewhere  called  a  bishop, 
a  "  blessed  and  Apostolic  elder ; "  *  leaving  no  doiibt  that  in  his  time, 
and  in  his  opinion,  the  two  words  were  synonymous.  Clement  op 
Alexandria,  (died  a.  d.  220,)  also  uses  interchangeably  the  words 
*  elder,'  and  '  bishop,'  and  though  he  sometimes  speaks  of  "  bishops, 
presbyters,  and  deacons,"  when  he  seems  to  mean  by  '  bishop,'  the 
presiding  presbyter,  who  acted  as  moderator  in  meetings  of  the  elders 
of  the  churches,  he  yet  distinctly  recognizes  only  two  offices  in  the 
Church,  for  he  says — after  having  observed  that  in  most  other  things 
there  are  two  orders  of  service,  one  of  which  is  more  dignified  than 
the  other  — "  it  is  the  same  in  the  Church,  where  the  elders  are  en- 
trusted with  the  dignified,  the  deacons  with  the  subordinate  ministry."^ 
Hilary  (a.  d.  384)  says,  "  the  Apostle  calls  Timothy — whom  he 
had  made  an  Elder  —  a  Bishop,  (for  the  first  Elders  were  called 
Bishops,)  that  when  he  departed,  the  one  who  came  next  might  suc- 
ceed him,"  etc.*  But  Jerome  (died  a.  d.  420)  gives  us  perhaps  the 
most  important  testimony  of  any  of  the  Fathers,  inasmuch  as  he 
recognizes  the  original  equality  of  the  offices  of  elder  and  bishop,  and 
states  the  reason  of  the  change  which  afterward  took  place,  in  the  ele- 
vation of  the  latter  above  the  former ;  and  as  he  was  the  most  learned 
man  of  his  time,  and  perhaps  of  the  early  ages,  his  witness  should 

1  "TotoiJrowf  irpearPvripovs  dvarpttpsi  ?}  i/c«fX»7<rta,  irtpi  Zv  kui  7rpo(pfiTrig  (prja-cv,  Scjcrcj 
Tovi  apxovrds  <tov  tv  eipfjvt],  Kai  tovs  iiriaKoiTovs  gov  iv  6iKaioavvri.^''—Ibid.  Lib.  iv.  c.  26. 
p.  263. 

2  "  Episcopi,  quibus  Apostoli  tradiderunt  Ecclesias." — Ibid.   Lib.  v.  c  20.  p  317. 

8  "  Qui  ergo  relinquunt  praeconium  Ecclesiae,  imperitiam  sanctorum  Presbyterorum  ar- 
guunt,"  etc.— iiirf.  p.  317. 

4  '"EvErfOff  h  pUKapios  Kal  diroaroXiKOs  KpscOvrepos." — ^'■Fragmentum  JEpistolcB  ad  Flori- 
num.''    Ibid.    Vol.  i.  p.  340. 

6  "'O/^otwj  6l  Kal  Kara  rnv  CKK'Sritriav,  rfiv  fxtv  0c\riortKfjv  ol  7rpecr0VT£poi  aco^ovatv, 
eiK6va  rr]v  virtpTiKhv  ol  6iaKovoi.'" — ^^ Stromata."  Lib.  rii.  p  700. 

6  "Timotheum,  presbyterum  a,  se  cre&tvim,  Episcopitm  Tocat,  quia  primi  presbyteri  episcopi 
appellabantur,  ut  recedente  uno  sequens  ei  succederet,"  etc.— ''Com.  on  JE^jA.  iv.  11, 12." 
Opera  Ambros.  (Ed.  Ben)  Vol.  ii  p.  241. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  95 

be  conclusive  upon  the  point  before  us.  He  says,  in  a  letter  to 
Oceanus,  "  with  the  ancients,  bishops  and  elders  were  the  same,  the 
one  being  a  name  of  age,  the  other  of  office."  ^  So  in  his  Epistle  to 
Evangelus,  after  asserting  the  identity  of  elders  and  bishops,  he  goes 
on  to  prove  his  point  from  Phil,  i:  1,  Acts  xx:  17,  28,  Tit.  i:  5, 
1  Tim.  iv:  14,  and  1  Pet.  v  :  1;  and  then  says,  "does  the  testimony  of 
these  men  seem  of  small  account  to  you?  Listen  then  to  the 
clang  of  that  gospel  trumpet — that  son  of  thunder,  whom  Jesus  loved, 
who  drank  at  the  fountain  of  truth  from  the  Saviour's  breast,  *  the 
ELDER  to  the  elect  lady  and  her  children,'  (2  John  i :  1)  ;  and  in  an- 
other epistle,  '  the  elder  to  the  well  beloved  Gains,'  (3  John  i :  1). 
As  to  the  fact  that  afterward  one  was  elected  who  should  preside 
over  the  rest,  it  was  done  as  a  remedy  against  schisms,  lest  every  one 
drawing  his  disciples  after  himself  should  rend  the  Church  of  Christ," 
etc.^  So,  most  emphatically,  he  says  again,  (in  commenting  on  Tit. 
i :  5,)  "  an  elder  is  the  same  as  a  bishop,  and  before  there  were,  by 
the  instigation  of  the  devil,  parties  in  religion,  and  it  was  said  among 
different  people,  'I  am  of  Paul,'  and  'I  of  Apollos,'  and  'I  of  Cephas,' 
the  churches  were  governed  by  the  joint  counsel  of  the  elders.  But 
afterwards,  when  every  one  accounted  those  whom  he  baptized  as 
belonging  to  himself,  and  not  to  Christ,  it  was  decreed  throughout  the 
whole  world,  that  one  chosen  from  the  elders  should  be  called  to  pre- 
side over  the  rest,  and  the  whole  care  of  the  Church  be  committed  to 
him,  that  the  seeds  of  schism  might  be  taken  away.  Should  any 
think  that  this  is  merely  my  private  opinion,  and  not  the  doctrine  of 
the  Scriptures,  let  him  read  the  words  of  the  Apostle  in  his  epistle  to 
the  Philippians :  *  Paul  and  Timothy,  servants  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  all 
the  saints  in  Christ  Jesus,  which  are  at  Philippi,  with  the  bishops  and 
deacons.'  Now  Philippi  is  a  single  city  of  Macedonia,  and  certainly  in 
one  city  there  could  not  be  several  modern  bishops ;  but  as  they  then 
called  the  very  same  persons  bishops  whom  they  called  elders,  the 


1  "  Apud  veteres  idem  episcopi  et  presbyteri  fuerint ;  quia  illud  nomen  dignitatis  est ;  hoc, 
setatis."— "-B/?.  ad  Oceanum.^^    Opera.  (Ed.  Eraami.  Basle,  1537.)  Vol.  ii.  p.  320. 

2  "  Parva  tibi  videntur  tantorum  virorum  testimonia?  clangat  tuba  evangelica,  filius  tonitrui, 
quern  Jesus  amavit  plurimum :  qui  de  pectore  salyatoris  doctrinarum  fluenta  potavit :  '  Pres- 
byter electee  dominge  et  filiis  ejus,  quos  ego  diligo  in  veritate'  Et  in  alia  epistola  :  *  Presbyter 
Caio  carissimo,  quern  ego  diligo  in  veritate.'  Quod  autem  postea  unus  electus  est,  qui  ceteris 
prseponeretur,  in  schismatis  remedium  factum  est,  ne  unusquisque  ad  se  trahens  Christi  eccle- 
siam  rumperet." — "  Ep.  ad  Evangy^  or  ^^Evagr."    Ibid.    Vol.  ii.  p.  329. 


96  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Apostle  has  spoken  without  distinction  of  bishops  as  elders."  ^  And 
a  Uttle  further  on,  he  says  again,  "  I  say  these  things  that  I  may 
show  that  among  the  ancients,  elders  and  bishops  were  the  very  same  ; 
but  that  little  by  little,  that  the  plants  of  dissension  might  be  plucked 
up,  the  whole  oversight  was  devolved  upon  one.  As  the  elders  there- 
fore know  that  they  are  inferior,  by  the  custom  of  the  Church,  to  him 
who  is  set  over  them,  so  let  the  bishops  know  that  they  rank  above 
elders,  more  by  custom  than  by  any  desire  of  Christr  ^ 

Equally  distinct  proof  of  the  point  before  us  might  be  added  from 
Chrysostom  ^  (a.  d.  407),  and  from  Theodoret  ^  (died  a.  d.  457)  ; 
but  space  enough  has  already  been  devoted  to  this  branch  of  the 
argument,^  and  we  only  reserve  room  for  a  remarkable  concession  of 
Pope  Urban  II  (a.d.  1091),  before  proceeding  to  cite  the  opinion  of 
the  professed  historians  of  the  Church.     He  says,  "  we  consider  the 


1  "  Idem  est  ergo  presbyter,  qui  et  episcopus,  et  antequam  diaboli  instinctu,  studia  in  religione 
fierent,  et  diceretur  in  populia  :  '  Ego  sum  Pauli,'  'ego  Apollo,'  '  ego  autem  Cephse,'  communi 
presbyterorum  consilio  ecclesise  gubemabantur.  Postquam  vero  unusquisque  eos,  quos,  bap- 
tizaverat,  suos  putabat  esse,  non  Christi ;  in  toto  orbe  decretum  est,  ut  unus  de  presbyteris 
electus  superponeretur  cseteris  ad  quern  omnia  ecclesiae  cura  pertineret,  et  schismatum  semina 
toUerentur.  Putat  aliquis  non  Scripturarum,  sed  nostram,  esse  sententiam  episcopum  et 
presbyterimi  unum  esse  ;  et  aliud  eetatis,  aliud  esse  nomen  ofiacii ;  relegat  Apostoli  ad  Philip- 
penses  verba  dicentis ;  '  Paulus  et  Timotheus  servi  Jesu  Christi  omnibus  Sanctis  in  Christo  Jesu 
qui  sunt  Philippis  cum  episcopis  et  diaconis,  gratia  vobis  et  pax,  et  reliqua.'  Philippi  una  est 
urbs  Macedoniae,  et  certe  in  una  civitate  plures  ut  nuncupantur  Episcopi  esse  non  poterant. 
Sed  quia  eosdem  Episcopos  illo  tempore  quos  et  presbyteros  apellabant,  propterea  indifferenter 
de  Episcopis  quasi  de  Presbyteris  est  locutus."— Com.  in  Tit.  i :  5.     Jbid.     Vol.  ix.  p.  245. 

2  "Hsec  propterea,  ut  ostenderemus  apud  veteres  eosdem  fuisse  presbyteros  et  episcopos; 
paulatim  vero,  ut  dissentionum  plantaria  eyellerentur,  ad  unum  omnem  solicitudinem  esse 
delatam.  Sicut  ergo  presbyteri  sciunt  se  ex  ecclesiae  consuetudine  ei,  qui  sibi  propositus  fuerit 
esse  subjectos,  ita  episcopi  norerint  se  magis  consuetudine  quam  dispositionis  dominicae  veri- 
tate,  presbyteris  esse  majores."— i&irf.  Vol.  ix.  p.  245. 

3  See  Chrysostom's  Epis.  ad  Phil,  and  Epis.  ad  Tim.  Opera. — Vol.  xi.  p.  194,  and  p.  604. 
*  See  Theodoret's  Epis.  ad  Phil,  and  Epis.  ad  Tim.  Opera.— Vol.  iii.  p-  445,  and  p.  459. 

6  To  these  might  be  added  many  less  clear  and  forcible  testimonies,  which  are  yet  interesting 
to  the  student  and  essential  to  a  complete  view  of  the  evidence  on  the  question.  Among  these 
may  be  mentioned  that  of  Isodore,  of  Seville  (A.D.  636)  {Etymol.  vii.  c.  12) ;  of  Bernaldus 
CoNSTANTiENSis  (A.D.  1088)  (De  Pres.  offic.  Tract  —in  Monumentorum  res  Allemannorum.  S. 
Bias.  1792.  4to.  Vol.  ii.  p.  384) ;  of  Tudeschus  (A.  D.  1428)  ( Sup^r  prima  parte  Primi.  cap.  v.  Ed. 
Lugdun.  1547.  fol.  112,  b) ;  and  of  Nicolaus  Cusanus  (A.  D.  1435)  (Be  concordantia  cath.  lib. 
iii.  c.  2. — in  Schardii  Syntagma  tractatuum,  p.  358.)  And  even  Jo.  Paul  Launcelot  (A.  D 
1563),  the  Papal  Canonist,  quotes  Jerome's  strong  and  clear  assertion  of  the  identity  of  Elders 
and  Bishops,  without  any  attempt  at  confutation.  (Institut.  Juris  Canon  lib.  1.  tit.  21.  Sec. 
3.)  Augustine  mentions  it  as  a  heresy  of  .^rius  and  his  followers,  that  they  were  able  to  dis- 
cern no  difference  between  an  Elder  and  a  Bishop.  ("  Dicebat  etiam  presbyterum  ab  episcopo 
nulla  differentia  debere  discerm."— *'  Liber  de  Hceresibus."  Sec.  liii.  Opera.  Ed.  Antwerpiae, 
1700.    Vol.  viu.  p.  14). 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  97 

eldership  and  the  deaconship  as  the  sacred  orders.  These  indeed  are 
all  which  the  primitive  Church  is  said  to  have  had.  For  them  alone 
have  we  Apostolic  authority."  ^ 

Of  the  best  Ecclesiastical  Historians  the  judgment  is  one  and  the 
same  in  this  matter.  Mosheim  says,  "  the  rulers  of  the  Church  were 
denominated,  sometimes  preshyters  or  elders,  —  a  designation  borrowed 
from  the  Jews,  and  indicative  rather  of  the  wisdom  than  the  age  of 
the  persons;  and  sometimes,  also,  bishops;  for  it  is  most  manifest, 
that  both  terms  are  promiscuously  used  in  the  New  Testament,  of 
one  and  the  same  class  of  persons."  ^  Waddington  —  an  Episcopal 
historian  —  concedes,  "  it  is  even  certain,  that  the  terms  bishop  and 
elder,  or  presbyter,  were,  in  the  first  instance,  and  for  a  short  period, 
sometimes  used  synonymously,  and  indiscriminately  applied  to  the 
same  order  in  the  ministry."  ^  Milner  —  also  a  Churchman  —  says, 
"  at  first,  indeed,  or  for  some  time,  Church  governors  were  of  only 
two  ranks,  presbyters,  and  deacons,"  etc.*  Campbell  sums  up  an 
elaborate  discussion  of  the  question,  covering  near  fifty  pages,  thus  — 
"  the  bishops  or  presbyters  (for  these  terms,  as  we  have  seen,  were 
then  used  synonymously)  appear  to  have  been  all  perfectly  coordinate 
in  ministerial  powers."  ^  Gieseler  says,  "  their  [the  early  churches'] 
presidents  were  the  elders  {TtQeo^vrsQOi,  kmay^onoi),  officially  of  equal 
rank;"^  —  a  proposition  which  he  estabfishes  in  a  long  note,  filled 
with  citations  from  the  Scriptures  and  the  Fathers.  Guericke 
says,  "that  both  names  [elder  and  bishop,]  originally  denoted  the 
same  office  —  as  is  conceded  even  in  the  fourth  century  by  Jerome ; 
by  Ambrosiaster,  or  Hilary  of  Rome ;  also,  to  some  extent,  by  the 
Constitutiones  Apostolicce ;  for  substance,  by  Chrysostom  also,  and 
Theodoret — is  plain  from  the  New  Testament  passages  in  which 
the  names  are  used  interchangeably ;  and  in  which  bishops  and  dea- 
cons, without  the  mention  of  presbyters  intermediate,  are  mentioned 
as  the  only  ecclesiastical  officers  in  the  single  churches.    The  original 


1  "  Sacros  autem  ordines  dicimus  diaconattun  et  presbyteratum.  Hos  siquidem  solos  primi- 
tiva  legitur  ecclesi?.  habiiisse  ;  super  his  solum  praeceptum  habemus  Apostoli." — Cone.  Bene,' 
wcni.  (A. D.  1091.)  Canonl, 

8  Murdock^s  translation.    Vol.  i.  p.  69. 

8  ^^ History  of  the  Church,''^  ch.  ii.  sec.  2. 

4  '^History  of  the  Church  of  Christ.'^    <PhiladeIphia  Ed.  1835.)    Vol.  i.  p.  92. 

6  **Le^tures  on  Eccl.  Hjst."    {Ed.  London.  1840  )  p.  99. 

6  "  Compendium  of  Eccl.  Hist.''    (Davidson's  trans.  Harper's  Ed.  1849.)    Vol.  1.  p.  90. 

7 


^8  CONGREGATIONALISM:. 

identity  of  elders  and  bishops  is  also  proved  by  those  passages  in  the 
New  Testament  in  which,  the  office  of  bishop  being  passed  over,  that 
of  elder  is  spoken  of  as  next  to  that  of  the  Apostles ;  in  which  the 
term  elder  denotes  the  one  only  office  of  ruling  and  pastoral  care  ; 
and  in  which  the  Apostles  denominate  themselves  co-elders."  ^  Schafp 
says,  "  the  two  appellations  belong  to  one  and  the  same  office ;  so 
that  the  bishops  of  the  New  Testament  are  to  be  regarded  not  as 
diocesan  bishops,  like  those  of  a  later  period,  but  simply  as  Congre- 
gational officers.  This  is  placed  beyond  question  by  every  passage  in 
which  we  meet  with  this  title."  ^  Kurtz  says,  "  that  originally  the 
7tQsa^vT8Q0i  (elders)  were  the  same  as  the  emoaoTtoi  (bishops),  we 
gather  with  absolute  certainty  from  the  statements  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  of  Clement  of  Rome,  a  disciple  of  the  Apostles,"  and  then, 
after  reference  to  three  points  of  that  witness  which  they  furnish,  he 
adds,  "  in  the  face  of  such  indubitable  evidence,  it  is  difficult  to  ac- 
count for  the  pertinacity  with  which  Romish  and  Angelican  theolo- 
gians msist  that  these  two  offices  had  from  the  first  been  diffiirent  in 
name  and  functions;  while  the  allegation  of  some,  that  although, 
originally,  the  two  designations  had  been  identical,  the  offices  them- 
selves were  distinct,  seems  little  better  than  arbitrary  and  absurd. 
Even  Jerome,  Augustin,  Urban  II.,  and  Petrus  Lombardus  admit  that 
originally  the  two  had  been  identical.  It  was  reserved  for  the  Coun- 
cil of  Trent  to  convert  this  truth  into  a  heresy."^  Killen  says, 
*'  the  elders  or  bishops  were  the  same  as  the  pastors  and  teachers ; 
for  they  had  the  charge  of  the  instruction  and  government  of  the 
Church."  ^  And  Neander  —  prince  of  all  who  have  devoted  their 
labors  to  the  exposition  of  the  affairs  of  the  early  Church  —  says ; 
"  that  the  name  emanoTtoi  or  bishops,  was  altogether  synonymous  with 
that  of  Presbyters,  is  clearly  evident  from  those  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture, where  both  appellations  are  used  interchangeably."  ^ 


1  ''Manual  of  Church  History.^^    (Shedd's  trans.  1857.)  p.  107. 

2  ''History  of  the  Apostolic  Church.^'  (Yeoman's  trans.  1858.)  p.  523.  See  also  ^'History  of 
the  Christian  Church,^''  by  the  same  author,    p.  134. 

3  "Text  Book  of  Church  History.'"  (1860.)  Vol  i.  p.  67.  SeealflO  ^'■History  of  the  Christian 
Church,''^  by  the  same  author.     (Clark's  Ed.)    Vol.  i.  p.  68. 

4  "  The  Ancient  Church.'^    (1859.)  p.  232. 

5  "  General  History  of  the  Christian  Religion  and  Church.''''  (Torrey's  trans.)  Vol.  i.  p.  184. 
So  also,  in  his  "Planting  and  Training  of  the  Chr.  Church.  (Ryland's  trans.)  (p.  92.).  he  en- 
larges on  the  same  point,  and  concludes  ;  "  originally  both  names  related  entirely  to  the  same 
office,  and  hence  both  names  are  frequently  interchanged  as  perfectly  synonymous."    And  in 


I 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM:   IS.  99 

Having  thus  observed  with  what  singular  unanimity  and  force,^  the 
current  of  learning  and  the  judgment  of  antiquity  sets  toward  that 

his  Introduction  to  Dr.  Coleman's  ^^Apostolical  and  Prim.  Church^''^  (p.  20),  he  says,  "  the 
name  of  presbyters  denoted  the  dignity  of  their  office.  That  of  bishops,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
expressive  rather  of  the  nature  of  their  office,  to  take  the  oversig/U  of  the  Church.  Most  cer- 
tainly no  other  distinction  originally  existed  between  them." 

1  The  question  may  here  naturally  arise  in  the  reader's  mind,  how,  if  the  voice  of  the  past  is 
80  clear  and  strong  as  would  appear  from  the  foregoing  testimonies,  the  advocates  of  Papal  and 
Episcopal  power  can  attempt  to  maintain  their  theory  also  from  antiquity  ?  They  do  it  mainly 
on  the  testimony  of  certain  documents  which  are  claimed  to  be  Epistles  of  Ignatius  (who  died 
A.  D.  107,  or  116),  which  contain  frequent  and  decided  reference  to  bishops,  as  a  rank  above 
presbyters,  and  bearing  authority.  These  Epistles  are  fifteen  in  number,  namely :  (1)  Ad 
Ephesios,  (2)  Ad  Magnesianos,  (3)  Ad  Trallianos,  (4)  Ad  Romanos,  (5)  Ad  Philadelphenos, 
(6)  Ad  Smyrneos,  (7)  Ad  Polycarpum,  (8)  Ad  Mariam,  (9)  Ad  Tarsenses,  (10)  Ad  Antiochenos, 
(11)  Ad  Heronern^  (12)  Ad  Philippenses,  (13)  Ad  Joanni  Evan.,  (14)  AdEundem,  (15)  BeatczVir- 
gini.  They  were  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  learned  world  at  different  times,  and,  after  all 
were  printed,  they  seem  to  have  been  received  without  question  until  about  the  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  Then,  when  scholarship  began  to  be  more  critical,  and  the  Reformation 
turned  special  attention  to  some  portion  of  their  contents,  doubts  began  to  be  expressed  in  re- 
gard to  them.  They  contain  such  precepts  as  these :  "  all  should  follow  the  Bishop,  as  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Father,"  {Ad  SmyrncBos,  Sec.  viii.) ;  "  It  is  not  allowable,  without  the  Bishop,  either 
to  baptize  or  to  administer  the  eucharist,"  {Ibid)  ;  "  Whoso  honors  the  Bishop,  shall  be  hon- 
ored of  God."  {Rid.  Sec.  ix.)  So,  they  intimate  that  the  Bishop  ought  to  be  reverenced  as 
Christ  himself,  {Ad  Ephesios,  Sec.  vi.) ;  that  he  presides  in  the  place  of  God,  {Ad  Magnesianos^ 
Sec.  vii.)  etc.  It  was  not  strange  that  such  passages  — so  wholly  unUke  the  ordinary  tenor  of 
the  speech  of  that  age  —  together  with  others  concerning  Lent,  and  many  corruptions  which  had 
crept  into  the  Church,  should  lead,  first  to  doubts,  next  to  a  rigid  examination,  and  then  to  a 
rejection  of  large  portions,  if  not  the  whole,  as  being  the  work  of  a  later  date  —  seeking,  by  for- 
gery, to  gain  the  reverence  natural  to  the  letters  of  such  a  man.  The  authors  of  the  Centurice 
Magdtburgenses  led  off  in  this  work.  Calvin  soon  expressed  his  opinion,  saying :  "  nothing  can 
be  more  nauseating  than  the  absurdities  which  have  been  published  under  the  name  of  Igna- 
tius ;  and  therefore,  the  conduct  of  those  who  provide  themselves  with  such  masks  for  deception 
is  the  less  entitled  to  toleration."  {Institutes,  Book  i.  chap.  xiii.  sec.  29.)  The  fight  waxed 
warm ;  Churchmen  generally  contending  on  the  one  side,  and  Reformers  on  the  other.  The 
three  Epistles  last  enumerated — which  were  extant  only  in  Latin  versions  —  were  soon  given 
up  as  spurious.  In  1623,  Vedelius  arranged  the  first  seven  of  the  remaining  twelve,  apart  from 
the  8th,  9th,  10th,  11th,  and  12th,  pronouncing  those  seven  to  be,  for  substance,  genuine  — 
with  interpolations,  which  he  endeavored  to  indicate  —  and  the  others  to  be  forgeries.  The 
controversy  went  on  for  several  years,  until,  in  1666,  Daille,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the 
French  Protestants,  vigorously  attempted  to  establish  the  fraudulent  origin  and  character  of  the 
entire  list.  To  him  Bishop  Pearson  replied,  in  1672,  saying  all  that  could  well  be  said  in  defence 
of  the  genuineness  of  a  portion  of  the  list.  The  result  of  the  contest  thus  far,  was  the  general 
conviction  on  the  part  of  Churchmen  that  the  first  seven— at  least  in  their  shortened  form, 
after  the  interpolations  should  be  thrown  out  —  were  reUable ;  and  a  concession  on  the  part  of 
their  antagonists  that  this  might  be  so. 

A  recent  discovery  has  re-opened  the  discussion.  In  the  library  of  the  Syrian  Convent  at 
Nitria,  in  Egypt,  was  found,  a  few  years  since,  a  Syriac  version  of  the  1st,  4th,  and  7th  Epistles, 
{Ad  Ephesios,  Ad  Romanos,  and  Ad  Polycarpum,)  which  was  purchased  for  the  British  Mu- 
seum. This  version  has  been  translated  and  published  by  the  Rev.  W.  Cureton  (London,  1845). 
It  now  turns  out  that  this  old  Syriac  MSS.  omits  two-thirds  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 
and  large  portions  of  the  otlier  two  —as  compared  with  those  Epistles  after  they  had  been  previ- 
ously reduced  by  throwing  out  all  which  seeined  to  be  interpolated ;  thus  prompting  the  infer- 
ence that  a  still  farther  important  excision  is  necessary  before  the  letters  of  Ignatius,  as  he 


100  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

view  of  the  parity  —  under  whatever  name  —  of  the  first  officers  of 
the  early  Christian  Church,  which  our  Congregational  Fathers  held ; 
we  are  prepared  to  advance  to  the  direct  examination,  in  the  last 
place :  — 

(3.)  Of  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures  themselves.  Those  passages 
which  bear  upon  this  subject  are  few  and  unambiguous.  It  will  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  exact  question  before  us,  concerning  which 
they  are  to  be  examined  is,  whether  the  four  terms,  *  Pastor,' '  Teacher,* 
*  Presbyter '  (or  elder),  and  '  Bishop '  (or  overseer),  are  intended  to  de- 
signate one  and  the  same  office,  or  two  or  more  offices,  of  diffiirent  rank. 

(a.)  The  first  proof  that  they  designate  one  office  only,  is  afforded  hy 
an  examination  of  the  words  themselves.  The  term  Pastor  (Ttoifir^v  — 
poimen)  is  the  word  which  is  usually  translated  '  Shepherd.'  It  occurs 
eighteen  times  in  the  New  Testament.  In  thirteen  of  these  it  is  applied, 
either  in  the  way  of  narrative  or  of  parable,  to  the  ordinary  relation  of 
a  shepherd  to  his  flock.  In  four  instances  it  is  applied  metaphorically 
to  Christ ;  as  the  *  good  Shepherd,'  the  *  great  Shepherd,'  etc.  In  the 
remaining  instance  (Eph.  iv;  11),  it  is  used  to  designate  those  per- 
sons whom  Christ  gave  to  his  Church,  in  connection  with  Apostles, 


wrote  them,  shall  be  in  our  possession.  It  is  remarkable  also  that  the  portions  thus  thrown 
Into  discredit  as  being  fraudulent  additions  of  a  later  date  than  the  genuine  Epistles,  bear 
directly  upon  the  Episcopal  and  Arian  controversies ;  rendering  it  almost  certain  that  these 
additions  were  the  work  of  some  party  interested  in  those  controversies,  and  desiring  shelter 
under  the  name  of  Ignatius.  It  may  be  noted  here,  also,  that  the  translator  of  Guericke  sug- 
gests that  these  passages,  if  genuine,  exhibit  merely  "  the  high  Church  tendency  of  a  locality 
(Asia  Minor),  and  not  the  theory  of  polity  universally  established  and  prevalent  at  the  time." 
—{Shedd's  ''Guericke^'  Vol.  i.  p.  113,  note.) 

Such  being  the  facts  in  regard  to  these  Epistles  —  it  being  wholly  uncertain  whether  those 
passages  which  Episcopalians  quote  from  them  in  proof  of  the  early  existence  and  authority  of 
Bishops  as  an  order  superior  to  Elders,  were  ever  written  by  Ignatius,  or  even  within  two  hun- 
dred years  of  his  time ;  and  it  being  entirely  certain  that  the  general  testimony  of  the  Fathers 
before  and  after  him,  is  against  any  such  Bishops  —  as  we  have  seen ;  we  feel  that  sound  reason- 
ing and  the  decision  of  common  sense  will  rule  Ignatius  out  of  court  as  a  witness  against  the 
great  array  on  the  other  side. 

Those  who  desire  to  review  this  controversy,  can  consult  Vedelius,  (4to  (Jeneva,  1623) ;  Arch- 
bishop Usher,  (Ito,  Oxford,  1644) ;  DaiUe''s  "De  Scriptis  quce  sub  Dionys.  Areop.  et  Ignatii  An- 
tioch.  ctrcumferentur,  Libri  duo.''^  (4to,  Geneva,  1666)  ;  Pearson^s  "  Vindicice  Ignatiance,'''  (4to, 
Cambridge,  1672);  Curetori's  '■'^ Ancient  Syriac  version  ofEpis.  of  IgnatP  (8vo,  London,  1845) ; 
Bunsen''s  "Ignatius  von  Antiochien,  und  seine  Zeit."  (Hamburg,  1847).  Cavers  '■^Hist.  Litt.^^ 
(Oxford,  1740),  Vol.  i.  p.  41. ;  Oudin  "  de  Scrip.  EccU^  Vol.  i.  cod.  71. ;  and  Ceillier's  '■'■Auteurs 
Sacres.^^  Vol.  i.  p.  620.  See  also  Neander,  (Torrey's  trans.)  Vol.  i.  p.  661.  See  also  Articles 
in  Princeton  Review,  Vol.  xxi.  p.  378 ;  New  Englander,  Vol.  vii.  p.  501 ;  Edinburgh  Review^ 
Vol.  xc.  p.  82;  Monthly  Christian  Spectator,  Vol.  v.  p.  393;  Church  Review,  Vol.  i.  p.  566, 
and  Vol.  ii.  p.  194 ;  London,  Quarterly,  Vol.  Ixxxviii.  p.  36  j  and  Kitto^s  Journal,  Vol.  t.  p. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  101 

prophets  and  evangelists,  for  *  the  perfecting  of  the  saints/  and  *  the 
work  of  the  ministry,'  etc.  Here  it  is  expressly  said  that  these  per- 
sons are  *  pastors  and  teachers;'  the  grammatical  construction  of  the 
sentence  being  such  as  to  render  it  certain  that,  in  this  only  case 
where  *  Pastors '  are  spoken  of,  they  are  the  same  persons  as  '  Teach- 
ers.' ^ 

The  term  Teacher  (diddaaaXog  —  didaskalos)  is  the  word  usually 
translated  *  master.'  It  is  found  ffty-eight  times  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. In  forty-seven  of  these  cases  it  is  rendered  *  master ; '  in  one 
instance  '  doctors,'  and  in  the  remaining  ten,  *  teacher,'  or  *  teachers.' 
In  four  of  these  ten,  (John  iii :  2,  Rom.  ii :  20,  2  Tim.  iv :  3,  Heb. 
V  :  12),  the  application  is  to  the  ordinary  function  of  imparting  knowl- 
edge. In  two,  (1  Tim.  ii:  7,  2  Tim.  i:  11),  of  the  remaining  six, 
Paul  applies  it  to  himself,  describing  himself  as  *  a  preacher  and  an 
Apostle,  and  a  teacher  of  the  Gentiles.'  In  the  remaining  four  cases 
(Acts  xiii:  1,  1  Cor.  xii:  28,  29,  Eph.  iv:  11),  it  is  used  to  describe 
those  officers  of  the  churches  who  taught  the  people ;  and  in  no  case 
in  such  a  connection  as  to  destroy  that  identity  between  them  and  the 
Pastors,  which  is  affirmed  in  Eph.  iv:  11,  and  intimated  in  the  way 
in  which  Paul  —  as  we  have  just  seen  —  takes  the  word  as  a  syno- 
nyme  for  his  own  office  as  a  preacher. 

The  term  Presbyter ,  or  Elder,  (rtQsa^vreQog  — preshuteros)  occurs 
in  sixty-seven  places  in  the  New  Testament.  In  thirty-one  instances 
it  is  employed  to  designate  the  Elders  of  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim  — 
officers  so  often  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Chief  Priests,  and 
not  wholly  unlike  the  Aldermen  of  our  own  time  ;  both  terms  in  their 
structure  recalling  the  unquestionable  fact  that  age  orighially  was  a 


1  "  Non  dicit  alios  pastores,  alios  doctores,  sed  alios  pastores  et  doctores,  quia  pastores  omnes 
dc'bent  esse  et  doctores."— iJsffMS  and  Erasmus,  in  loco.     Poole,  Syn.  Crit.  Vol.  iv.  p.  789. 

"  The  union  of  the  two,  [pastors  and  teachers]  in  general  as  one  class,  to  which  either  desig- 
nation might  in  some  degree  apply,  seems  to  be  intimated  by  the  construction  of  the  Greek, 
which  places  before  each  of  the  preceding  nouns,  the  same  article  which  qualifies  these  two." — 
Turner^s  ^'■Ephesians,'^  p.  125- 

"  The  absence  of  the  article  before  SiSacKaXovs  proves  that  the  Apostle  intended  to  designate 
the  same  persons  as  at  once  pastors  and  teachers.  .  .  .  This  interpretation  is  given  by  Augustine 
and  Jerome  ;  the  latter  of  whom  says,  '  non  enim  ait :  alios  autem  pastores  et  alios  magistros, 
Bed  alios  pastores  et  magistros,  ut  qui  pastor  est,  esse  debeat  et  magister.'  In  this  interpretation, 
the  modern  commentators,  almost  without  exception,  concur." — Hodge^s  "Ephesians,^^  p.  226. 

"  From  these  latter  teachers  not  being  distinguished  from  the  pastors  by  the  rovi  Si.,  it 
would  seem  that  the  two  offices  were  held  by  the  same  persons." — Alford.  in  loco.  Vol.  iii.  p. 
113. 


102  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

prominent  qualification  for  such  a  dignity.  In  twelve  instances  it  is 
applied  to  the  '  four  and  twenty  elders '  of  the  Apocalypse.  Once 
(Heb.  xi :  2),  it  is  used  of  the  Ancient  Hebrews.  In  six  cases  it  is 
simply  the  adjective  of  age  —  *  elder,'  '  eldest,'  etc.  In  the  remaining 
seventeen  instances  —  ten  being  in  the  Acts  —  it  refers  to  those  offi- 
cers of  the  Christian  churches  who  were  called  Elders,  and  who,  in 
fifteen  of  the  seventeen  cases,  were,  so  far  as  record  is  made,^  the 
only  officers,  except  the  deacons,  which  the  churches  had;  leaving 
the  necessary  inference  that  they  must  have  been  the  same  persons 
who  are  elsewhere  styled  '  pastors '  and  '  teachers.' 

The  term  Bishop  or  Overseer  (Imaxonog  —  episkopos)  occurs  only 
five  times  in  the  New  Testament.  Once  (1  Pet.  ii :  25),  it  is  applied 
to  Christ  as  *  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop '  of  souls  ;  where  it  is  coupled 
with  the  word  usually  translated  'Pastor,'  as  already  mentioned.^ 
Three  times  it  is  used  in  such  connection  as  to  make  it  obviously  the 
title  of  the  one  office  of  the  Church  beside  that  of  deacon ;  viz :  (1  Tim, 
iii :  2),  where  Paul,  after  describing  the  qualifications  needful  for  a 
Bishop,  passes  at  once  to  say,  "  likewise  must  the  deacons  be  grave," 
etc. ;  and  (Tit.  i :  7),  where  he  speaks  of  Timothy's  "  ordaining  elders 
in  every  city,"  and  proceeds  to  say  that  they  [the  elders]  must  "  be 
blameless,"  etc.,  "/or  a  Bishop  ought  to  be  blameless,  as  the  steward 
of  God,"  —  there  being  no  possibility  of  any  sound  logical  or  gram- 
matical construction  which  shall  avoid  the  identity  of  the  Bishop  with 
the  Elders  just  spoken  of;^  and  (Phil,  i:  1,)  where  Paul  addresses 
the  saints  at  Philippi  "  with  the  Bishops  and  deacons  "  —  no  mention 


1  Acts  xi:30;  xiv:  23;  xv:  2,  4,  6,  22,  23;  xVi:  4;  xx:17;xxi:  18;  1  Tim.  v :  17, 19 ;  Tit. 
i :  5 ;  James  v :  14 ;  1  Pet.  t  :  1. 

2  See  page  100. 

3  "  This  passage  plainly  shows  that  there  is  no  distinction  between  a  presbyter  and  a  bishop  ; 
for  he  [Paul]  now  calls  indiscriminately  by  the  latter  name,  those  whom  he  formerly  called 
presbyters ;  and  farther  in  conducting  this  very  argument,  he  employs  both  names  in  the 
same  sense,  without  any  distinction  ;  as  Jerome  has  remarked,  both  in  his  commentary  on  this 
passage,  and  in  his  Epistle  to  Evagrius." — Calvin.    Comment,  in  loco.  p.  294. 

*'  That  the  expression  elders  (v.  5)  designates  the  same  office  as  Bishop  in  v.  7,  is  acknowl- 
edged by  all  who  can  acknowledge  it." — Olshausen.  (Kendrick's  Ed.)  Vol.  v.  p.  566. 

"  We  see  here  a  proof  of  the  early  date  of  this  Epistle,  in  the  synonymous  use  of'tTriaKoiros 
and  TTpecrBvTtpos ;  the  latter  word  designating  the  rank,  the  former,  the  duties  of  the  presby- 
ter."—  Conybeare  and  Howson.  Vol.  ii.  p.  477. 

"  ^For  it  behooves  aw'  {top,  as  so  often,  generic,  ihe,  i.  e.,  every  :  our  English  idiom  requires 
the  indefinite  article)  '  overseer '  —  (here  most  plainly  identified  with  the  presbyter  spoken  of  be- 
fore) « to  be  blameless,''  "  etc.— Al/ord.   Com.   Tit.  i :  7.    Vol.  iii.  p.  391. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  103 

being  made  of  any  other  office  as  being  known  to  him,  or  them,  in 
connection  with  the  Church.  The  only  other  instance  of  the  use  of 
the  word  is  (Acts  xx :  28,)  where,  at  Miletus,  Paul  expressly  tells 
the  elders  of  the  Church  at  Ephesus,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  has  made 
them  kmayiOTtovg  {episkopous)  Bishops,  or  overseers,  over  that  *  flock,' 
to  '  feed  the  Church  of  God  which  he  hath  purchased  with  his  own 
blood.' 

So  far  as  the  usage  and  signification  of  the  words  themselves  are 
concerned,  then,  it  is  obvious  that  they  are  irreconcilable  with  any 
other  theory  than  that  which  applies  them  to  one  office  only.  There 
are  also  two  instances  of  the  use,  by  Paul,  of  kindred  words,  in  such 
a  way  as  to  prove  the  same  point.  One  is  (1  Pet.  v :  2,  3)  where 
he,  as  a  *  fellow-elder,'  exhorts  "  the  elders  which  are  among  you,"  to 
"  feed  the  flock  of  God  which  is  among  you,  emaxoTtovvreg  (episko- 
pountes),  [the  verb  which  signifies  the  activity  of  the  noun  '  Bishop,'] 
acting  the  Bishop  over  them,  not  by  constraint,  but  willingly,"  etc. 
But  if  Paul  exhorted  Elders  to  act  as  Bishops,  it  could  only  be 
because  he  understood  them  to  be  Bishops !  The  other  is  (1  Tim. 
iii;  1),  where  the  same  Apostle  says,  "if  a  man  desire  tmaxoTifjg 
(episkopes)  [the  noun  denoting  the  activity  of  the  noun  *  Bishop '] 
the  office  of  a  Bishop^  he  desireth  a  good  work,"  etc.,  going  on  imme- 
diately to  discourse  of  the  qualifications  of  bishops  and  deacons,  as  if 
they  were  the  only  Church  officers  concerning  whom  he  had  any 
knowledge,  or  any  counsel  to  give ;  a  thing  simply  incredible  on  the 
Episcopal  theory.  It  is  noticeable  in  this  connection,  also,  that  the 
name  '  Apostle '  is  never,  in  a  single  instance,  used  interchangeably 
for  that  of  Bishop  or  Deacon ;  while  the  Apostles  did  sometimes  style 
themselves  *  Elders ; '  ^  which  would  argue  that  (if  either  are)  Elders 
rather  than  Bishops  must  be  "  successors  of  the  Apostles,"  in  an  offi- 
cial sense. 

(b.)  The  second  proof  from  the  Bible  that  the  terms  Pastor,  Teacher, 
Elder,  and  Bishop,  designate  one  and  the  same  office,  is  found  in  the 
fact  that  the  same  qualifications  are  demanded  of  all.  We  have  seen 
that  the  terms  '  Pastor '  and  '  Teacher '  are  never  used  to  distinguish 
offices  diffiarent  from  the  Elders  and  Bishops.  So  that  the  real  ques- 
tion is  whether  the  Scriptural  qualifications  of  Elders  and  Bishops 
are  the  same,  or  not  ?     Paul  has  given,  at  some  length,  the  requisites 

I  2  Johni:  1;  3  Johni:!;  iPet.  v:l. 


104 


CONGEEGATIONALISM. 


for  the  faithful  performance  of  both  offices,  and  when  arranged  in 
parallel  columns,  it  will  be  easy  to  see  how  far  they  agree,  and 
whether,  anywhere,  they  differ. 


For  an  Elder. 
Tit.  i:  6-10. 
If  any  be  blameless,  the  husband  of 
one  wife,  naving  faithful  children — not 
accused  of  riot,  or  unruly. 


A  lover  of  hospitality,  a  lover  of  good 
men,  sober,  just,  holy,  temperate,  hold- 
ing fast  the  faithful  word  as  he  hath 
been  taught,  that  he  may  be  able  by 
sound  doctrine  both  to  exhort,  and  to 
convince  the  gainsayers.  Blameless,  as 
the  steward  of  God,  not  self-willed,  not 
soon  angry,  not  given  to  wine,  no  strik- 
er, not  given  to  filthy  lucre. 


For  a  Bishop. 

1  Tim,  iii :  2-7. 

A  bishop  must  be  blameless,  the  htis- 
band  of  one  wife,  one  that  ruleth  well 
his  own  house,  having  his  children  in 
subjection  with  all  gravity.  For  if  a 
man  know  not  how  to  rule  his  own 
house,  how  shall  he  take  care  of  the 
Church  of  God? 

Vigilant,  sober,  of  good  behavior, 
given  to  hospitality,  apt  to  teach. 


Not  given  to  wine,  no  striker,  not 
greedy  of  filthy  lucre,  but  patient,  not 
a  brawler,  not  covetous.  Not  a  novice, 
lest  being  lifted  up  with  pride,  he  fall 
into  the  condemnation  of  the  devil. 
Moreover  he  must  have  a  good  report 
of  them  which  are  without,  lest  he  fall 
into  reproach,  and  the  snare  of  the 
devil. 


These  qualifications  are  identical.  Elders  and  Bishops  must  both 
be  blameless,  the  husband  of  one  wife,  faithful  parents,  circumspect, 
sober,  hospitable,  temperate,  patient,  humble,  quiet,  long-suffering, 
and  able  to  teach  others.  If,  in  these  catalogues  of  necessary  graces, 
either  has  the  advantage  of  the  other,  the  Elder  has  it  in  the  fact 
that  Paul  mentions  it  as  of  importance  for  him  to  possess  and  use 
"  sound  doctrine "  for  exhortation  and  conviction,  a  thing  which  he 
leaves  to  inference  in  the  case  of  the  Bishop.  How  inevitable  the 
conclusion  that,  in  Paul's  mind,  the  two  offices  were  the  same ! 

(c.)  The  third  proof ,  from  the  Bible,  that  the  terms  Pastor,  Teacher, 
Elder,  and  Bishop  designate  one  and  the  same  office,  is  found  in  the 
fact  that  the  same  duties  are  assigned  to  all.  These  duties  are 
to  guide ;  to  instruct ;  to  administer  the  ordinances ;  and  perhaps  to 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  105 

ordain.  We  shall  see  that  they  are  made  the  duties  of  Elders  and 
Bishops  alike,  or,  at  least,  that  the  Bishops  have  no  preeminence  in 
regard  to  them. 

(^aa.)  It  is  their  duty  to  guide  the  Church  hy  counsel  and  author- 
ity. All  will,  of  course,  concede  that  if  there  were  any  such  Bishops 
in  the  days  of  the  Apostles  as  are  now  known  by  that  name,  this  must 
have  been,  by  emphasis,  their  duty.  But  the  New  Testament  makes 
it  clear  that  the  Elders  were  charged  with  it  as  a  part  of  their  func- 
tion, for  Paul  says  (1  Tim.  v:  17),  "let  the  Elders  that  rule  well, 
(ol  xal(ag  TtQoeatmeg  TtQsa^vTSQOi  —  hoi  kalos  proestotes  presbuteroi), 
be  counted  worthy  of  double  honor."  So  Paul  tells  the  Elders 
of  the  Church  at  Ephesus  who  assembled  at  Miletus  to  meet  him 
(Acts  XX :  28),  to  *take  heed  unto  themselves,  and  to  all  the  flock, 
over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made  them  Bishops,  that  they  (Ttoi- 
fiaivEiv — poimainein)  feed  the  Church  of  God  which  he  hath  pur- 
chased with  his  own  blood.'  In  the  classic  Greek  this  verb  here 
rendered  '  feed,'  had  the  meaning  *  to  take  care  of,  to  guide,  to  gov- 
ern,' ^  and  in  four  of  the  eleven  instances  of  its  use  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, the  common  version  renders  it  *  rule.^  ^  Its  natural  sense  seems 
to  be,  however,  that  of  acting  the  shepherd  to  a  flock,  which  includes 
prominently  the  idea  of  leading  and  guiding  —  driving,  if  need  be  — 
them  to  such  fields  and  streams  as  are  best  fitted  for  their  nourish- 
ment and  repose.  And  it  is  quite  worthy  of  notice  that  this  same 
word  which  is  applied  (Matt,  ii :  6)  to  the  rule  of  Christ  over  his 
Church,  is  here  used  as  descriptive  of  the  relation  of  the  Elders  to  the 
churches.  It  may  be  remembered  here,  also,  that  in  all  the  record  of 
the  council  at  Jerusalem  (Acts  xv:  1-31),  the  Elders  are  the  only 
ofiicers  of  the  churches  who  are  mentioned  as  taking  part  in  the  de- 
bate or  the  decision,  with  *  the  Apostles '  and  '  the  whole  Church.' 

{hh.)  It  is  the  duty  of  Bishops  and  Elders  alike  to  instruct  the 
Church.  This  is  clear  indirectly  from  the  tenor  of  many  passages, 
but  directly  from  the  demands  before  quoted,^  that  the  Bishop  be 
*  apt  to  teach,'  and  the  Elder  '  be  able  by  sound  doctrine,  both  to  ex- 
hort and  to  convince  the  gainsayers.' 

(cc.)  It  was  the  duty  of  Bishops  and  Elders  alike  to  administer  the 
ordinances  of  the  Gospel.     We  are  left  indeed  without  the  direct  tes- 

I  See  *'  Liddell  and  Scott."       2  Matt,  ii :  6 ;  Rev.  ii :  27 ;  xii :  5 ;  six :  15.       3  gee  page  104. 


106  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

timony  of  any  Biblical  record,  or  command,  to  settle  this,  but  the  cir- 
cumstantial evidence  in  proof  of  the  position  is  very  strong.  It  is 
dear  that  somebody  must  have  administered  the  ordinances  of  Bap- 
tism and  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  that  such  administration  was  a  thing 
of  standing  necessity,  not  only  for  the  introduction  of  all  believers  into 
the  Church,  but  for  their  edification  afterwards  —  since  it  is  in  evi- 
dence that  the  Lord's  Supper  was  first  administered  daily  ;  ^  and  sub- 
sequently every  week.'^  These  ordinances  —  being  thus  a  part  of  the 
ordinary  demand  of  the  churches  for  their  regular  service,  their  admin- 
istration must  be  presumed  to  have  formed  a  part  of  the  regular  duty 
of  those  who  had  the  oversight  of  the  churches,  and  performed  the  or- 
dinary functions  of  the  pastoral  oflTice,  unless  some  special  reservation  is 
made  of  this  duty  for  some  one  class  of  laborers.  No  such  reservation 
in  favor  of  Bishops  is  found  on  the  record  of  the  New  Testament ; 
while  it  is  noticeable  that  the  Apostles  seem  to  have  thrown  off  the 
administration  of  the  rite  of  Baptism  upon  the  ordinary  teachers  of  the 
Church.  Paul  thanked  God  that  he  baptized  none  of  the  Corinthians 
but  Crispus  and  Gains,  and  the  household  of  Stephanas,  saying  that 
Christ  *  sent  him  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  Gospel.'  Peter 
did  not  baptize  Cornelius.^  The  inference  is  an  easy  one  that  God's 
design  was  that  the  administration  of  the  ordinances  of  Baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper  should  devolve  upon  the  ordinary  ministers  of  the 
Church ;  whether  named  Pastors,  or  Teachers,  or  Elders,  or  Bishops. 
{dd.)  If  it  was  the  duty  of  Bishops,  it  was  also  of  the  Elders  to  or- 
dain. It  would  be  claimed  by  the  advocates  of  the  modem  theory 
of  the  Episcopal  office,  that,  if  there  were  any  Bishops  in  the  Apos- 
tolic Church,  it  must  have  been  a  part  of  their  business  to  induct  their 
fellow  laborers  into  office,  by  ordination.  But  the  New  Testament 
—  while  it  says  not  a  word  about  ordination  by  Bishops  —  does  speak 
of  what  may  have  been  the  ordination  of  Timothy  by  the  laying  on 

1  Acts  ii :  42-46 ;  1  Cor.  x :  21. 

2  See  "  Pliny's  letter  to  Trajan,"  and  Coleman's  "Ancient  Christianity,"  p.  425. 

3  TertulUan  argues  that  even  laymen  have  the  right  to  baptize  and  to  administer  the  sacra- 
ment. He  says  :  — "  Vani  erimus,  si  putaverimus,  quod  sacerdotibus  non  liceat,  laicis  Ucere. 
Nonne  et  laici  sacerdotes  sumus  ?  Scriptum  est :  Regnum  quoque  nos  et  sacerdotes,  Deo  et  Patri 
suo  fecit.  Differentiam  inter  ordinem  et  plebem  constituit  ecclesise  auctoritas,  et  honor  per 
ordinis  consessum  sanctificatus.  Adeo  ubi  ecclesiastic!  ordinis  non  est  consessus,  et  offers,  et 
itngruis  et  sacerdos  es  tibi  solus."— De  iTi/iorta.  Cast.c.l.   (Ed.  Lipsiae.)  Vol.  ii.  p.  105. 

See  Grotius'  comment  upon  this,  and  on  the  general  subject,  in  his  tract  "  De  caruB  admin' 
istratione,  ubipastores  non  sunt. ^'— Works.  (Ed.  1679.)  Vol.  iv.  pp.  507-509. 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  107 

of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery  ;  that  is,  of  the  company  of  Presbyters, 
or  Elders.^  While,  therefore,  there  is  neither  precept,  nor  very  clear 
example  of  what  we  call  ordination,  as  a  custom  of  the  primitive 
Church  recognized  as  imperative  and  perpetual  by  the  Scriptures,  it 
is  at  least  true  that,  so  far  as  there  is  any  hint  in  that  direction,  it  is 
in  favor  of  Elders  rather  than  of  Bishops,  as  those  by  whose  hands 
it  should  be  given. 

(cZ.)  The  fourth  proof  that  the  Scriptures  recognize  Pastors,  Teach- 
ers, Elders,  and  Bishops  as  names  for  one  office  only,  is  found  in  the 
fact  that  those  texts  which  have  been  claimed  as  indirectly  implying 
that  Bishops  were  a  superior  order,  fail  to  sustain  that  claim.  It  has 
been  asserted  that  James  was  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  Titus  Bishop  of 
Crete,  and  Timothy  Bishop  of  Ephesus;  though  tradition,  rather 
than  Scripture,  has  been  mainly  relied  on  for  proof.^  Reference  has, 
however,  been  made,  by  those  who  maintain  that  James  was  the  first 
"  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,"  to  the  fact  that  Peter  told  the  company  who 
were  praying  at  the  house  of  Mary  on  the  night  of  his  deliverance 
from  prison,  to  "  go  show  these  things  unto  James  and  to  the  breth- 
ren ; "  ^  to  the  fact  that  James  presided  when  the  multitude  "  gave 
audience  to  Barnabas  and  Paul,"  *  and  said,  "  wherefore  my  sentence 
is  that  we  trouble  not  them,"  etc. ;  to  the  fact  that  Paul,  in  describ- 
ing a  certain  matter  to  the  Galatians,  refers  to  the  arrival  of  some 
brethren  from  Jerusalem,  as  that  of  certain  who  "came  from  James ;"^ 
and  to  the  record  that  Paul  went  in  "  unto  James,  and  all  the  Elders 
were  present,"^  on  his  arrival  at  Jerusalem  from  Miletus.  But 
there  is  only  one  of  these  passages  which  would  not  be  just  as  appro- 
priate on  the  Congregational  theory  that  James  was  Senior  Pastor  of 
the  Church  at  Jerusalem;  and  that  was  unwarrantably  modified 
from  the  original  in  the  process  of  translation,  by  those  who  believed 
that  James  was  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  and  desired  to  harmonize  the 
record  with  that  belief.  The  "wherefore  my  sentence  is,"  is  ^ib 
tyod  'AQivco  (dio  ego  krino),  which  simply  means ;  ^^  wherefore  lam  of 

1  ^^^  Of  the  presbytery  *  —i.  e.  of  the  body  of  Elders  who  belonged  to  the  congregation  in 
•which  he  was  ordained.  Where  this  was,  we  know  not :  hardly  in  Lystra,  where  he  was  first 
converted  :  might  it  not  be  in  Ephesus  itself,  for  this  particular  office  ?  ^'—Al/ord.  Com.  on  1 
Tim.  iT  :  14.    (Vol.  iu.  p.  326.) 

2  Bingham  refers  to  Jerome,  Epiphanius,  Chrysostom,  Eusebius,  Hilary  the  Deacon,  and 
Theodoret,  in  proof;  but  quotes  no  Scripture  in  eyidence.—^'^  Antiquities.'^  Vol.  i.  pp.  20,  21. 

3  Acts  xii :  17.  4  Acts  xv :  13-19.  6  Gal.  ii :  12.  6  Acts  xxi :  18. 


108  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

opinion  that"  etc.^  So  that  this  amounts  to  nothing  in  the  way  of 
argument. 

All  the  Scripture  claimed  as  evidence  that  Titus  was  Bishop  of 
Crete,  is  the  record  that  Paul  left  him  in  Crete  to  "  set  in  order  the 
things  that  are  wanting,  and  ordain  Elders  in  every  city,  as  I  had 
appointed  thee."^  But  this  passage  is  much  more  consonant  with 
the  Congregational  theory  that  Paul  desired  him  to  act  as  an  Evan- 
gelist, or  temporary  Missionary  Superintendent  of  these  semi-heathen 
churches ;  to  comfort  and  instruct  them,  and  perfect  their  organization. 
That  Paul  did  not  intend  for  him  to  assume  any  permanent  office 
over  them,  is  rendered  sure  by  his  direction  to  him  to  fail  not  to 
'  come  unto  him  at  Nicopolis,'  ^  before  winter,^  and  the  mention  of  hia 
subsequent  departure  to  Dalmatia.^ 

The  Episcopal  claim  in  the  case  of  Timothy  rests  on  a  foundation 
in  the  New  Testament  so  slight,  that  it  is  amazing  with  what  cool 
assumption  he  is  asserted  to  have  been  "  Bishop  of  Ephesus."    When 


1  "  There  does  not  seem  to  be  in  the  following  speech,  any  decision  ex  cathedra,  either  in  the 
aKovaart  /iou,  or  in  the  eyw  Kpivoi  :  .the  decision  lay  in  the  weightiness,  partly  no  doubt  of  the 
person  speaking,  but  principally  of  the  matter  spoken  by  him." — Alford.  Comment,  in  loco. 
Vol.  ii.  p.  151. 

"  '/ — for  my  part,  without  dictating  to  others — judge,  i.  e.  decide  as  my  opinion.^  The  verb 
affords  no  proof  that  the  spetiker's  authority  was  greater  thsua  thftt  of  the  other  Apostles." — 
Hackett.  Acts,  p.  245. 

"  Id  est,  ita  censeo.''^ — Grotius,  in  loco.   Vol.  ii.  p.  620. 

*' '  Wherefore  I  think  that  we  ought  not  to  trouble,'  etc.  .  .  .  We  may  gather  out  of  this 
narrative  that  they  made  no  small  account  of  James,  forasmuch  as  he  doth  with  his  voice  and 
consent  so  confirm  the  words  of  Peter,  that  they  are  all  of  his  mind.  .  .  .  The  old  writers  think 
that  this  was  because  he  was  Bishop  of  the  place  ;  but  it  is  not  to  be  thought  that  the  faithful 
did,  at  their  pleasure,  change  the  order  which  Christ  had  appointed." — Calvin.  Comment,  in 
loco.  pp.  63-70. 

"  '■I  judge '  —  a  common  formula,  by  which  the  members  of  the  Greek  assemblies  introduced 
the  expression  of  their  individual  opinion,  as  appears  from  its  repeated  occurrence  in  Thucyd- 
ides  ;  with  which  may  be  compared  the  corresponding  Latin  phrase  {sic  censeo)  of  frequent 
use  in  Cicero's  orations.  That  James  here  settles  the  whole  question  by  a  decision  ex  cathedra, 
is  as  groundless  an  opinion  as  that  Peter  had  already  done  so  by  his  diet w?7i." — Alexander. 
Acts.  Vol.  ii.  p.  83. 

2  Titus  i :  5.  3  Titus  iii :  12. 

4  "  At  this  latter  date  (A.  D.  67)  we  find  him  [Titus]  left  in  Crete  by  St.  Paul,  obviously  for 
a  temporary  purpose,  viz  :  to  '  carry  forward  the  correction  of  those  things  which  are  defective,' 
and  among  these  principally,  to  establish  presbyteries  for  the  government  of  the  various 
churches,  consisting  of  iniaKoiroi.  His  stay  there  was  to  be  very  short  (Ch.  iii :  12)  and  he  was, 
on  the  arrival  of  Tychicus  or  Artemas,  to  join  the  Apostle  at  Nicopolis.  Not  the  slightest  trace 
is  found  in  the  Epistle,  of  any  intention  on  the  part  of  St  Paul,  to  place  Titus  permanently 
over  the  Cretan  Churches :  indeed,  such  a  view  is  mconsistent  with  the  data  furnished  us  in 
it.'"— Alford.   Introduction  to  Epis.  to  Tit.  Vol.  iii  p.  107. 

6  2  Tim.  iv :  10. 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM  IS, 


Paul  (a.  d.  57  or  58),  left  Asia  Minor  for  Greece,  he  desired  Tim- 
othy to  take  temporary  charge  of  the  Church  at  Ephesus  —  as  it  is 
written :  "  I  besought  thee  to  abide  still  at  Ephesus,  when  I  went 
into  Macedonia  "  —  not  to  become  its  permanent  head,  but  for  a  speci- 
fied purpose  —  "  that  thou  mightest  charge  some  that  they  teach  no 
other  doctrine,  neither  give  heed  to  fables  and  endless  genealogies," 
etc.-^  With  the  exception  of  an  incidental  allusion  to  his  "  minister- 
ing"^ to  Paul  while  there,  this  is  the  only  intimation  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament that  Timothy  ever  was  at  Ephesus  at  all!  And  that  the 
purpose  for  which  Paul  commissioned  him  was  a  temporary  one,  is 
clear  from  the  tenor  of  the  Epistle.  Paul  says,  "  till  I  come,  give 
attendance  to  reading,"  etc.^  So  he  says,  "  these  things  write  I  unto 
thee,  hoping  to  come  unto  thee  shortly ;  but  if  I  tarry  long,''  etc.* 
Nor  do  we  find  the  least  hint  that  Timothy,  or  any  one  else,  was,  or 
was  ever  to  be.  Bishop  —  in  the  Episcopal  sense  —  of  the  Church  at 
Ephesus,  either  in  Paul's  address  to  its  Elders  when  they  met  him  at 
Miletus,^  or  in  his  Epistle  to  it ;  while  the  tenor  of  the  Epistle  coin- 
cides with  his  recorded  counsel  to  those  Elders  to  take  care  of  it,  as 
being  themselves  its  Bishops  —  in  the  Congregational  sense.^  More- 
over, long  after  the  date  when  Paul  is  claimed  to  have  set  Timothy 
over  the  Ephesian  Church  as  Bishop,  he  writes  to  him  to  "  do  the 
work  of — an  Evangelist."'^  We  dismiss,  then,  these  assumptions  on 
behalf  of  the  Episcopal  dignity  of  Timothy,  and  Titus,  and  James,  with 
the  irresistible  conclusion  that,  but  for  the  reactionary  influence  of  a 
corrupt  subsequent  condition  of  the  churches,  leading  early  writers  and 
later  historians  to  seek  to  manufacture  precedents  in  the  very  time  of 
the  Apostles,  no  man  in  his  senses  would  ever  have  dreamed  of  at- 
tempting to  draw  such  inferences  from  such  premises.^  And  we  con- 
clude also  —  since  these  texts,  claimed  to  estabUsh  the  New  Testa- 
ment origin  of  Bishops  as  an  order  superior  to  Elders,  fail  thus  to 
justify  that  claim ;  and  since  the  duties  and  qualifications  recorded 

1  1  Tim.  i :  3.  2  Acta  xix :  22.  3  1  Tim.  iv :  13.  *  1  Tim.  iii :  14, 15. 

6  Acts  XX :  17-38.        6  Acts  xx :  28.  7  2  Tim.  iv  :  5. 

8  "  How  little  does  all  this  look  as  if  Timothy  -were  the  permanent  Bishop  of  Ephesus  !  A 
man  who  is  never  mentioned  as  being  there  but  for  a  temporary  purpose ;  who  received  no 
charge,  even  in  a  letter  addressed  to  him  there,  but  such  as  might  be  given  to  any  minister  of 
the  Gospel ;  who  is  repeatedly  mentioned  as  being  elsewhere  united  with  Paul  in  his  toils  and 
trials ;  and  of  whom  there  is  no  intimation  that  he  ever  did  return,  or  ever  would  return,  for 
any  purpose  whatever !  Such  is  the  strong  case  on  which  so  much  reliance  in  placed  in  sus- 
taining the  enormous  fabric  of  Episcopacy  in  the  world ! " — Barrus^ ^Apostolic  Church.'"  p.  106. 


110  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

of  Bishops  and  Elders  are  identical ;  and  since  there  is  nothing  in 
the  sense,  or  use,  of  the  words  themselves  to  warrant  any  other  de- 
duction —  that  the  Scriptures  teach  the  full  identity  of  these  offices. 
Whence  also  we  further  judge  —  since  the  voice  of  Scripture,  of 
Ecclesiastical  History,  and  of  the  early  writers  of  the  Church,  and 
the  opinion  of  so  many  eminent  and  candid  scholars  concur  in  the 
affirmation,  —  that  the  first  class  of  permanent  officers  which  Christ 
designated  for  his  churches,  is  indiscriminately  spoken  of  in  the  New 
Testament  under  the  names  of  Pastor,  Teacher,  Elder,  and  Bishop. 

Here,  as  well  as  anywhere,  may  be  considered  a  question  which 
must  be  answered  somewhere,  namely : 

Does  the  New  Testament  teach,  or  authorize^  any  such  distinct  oj^ce 
in  the  Church  as  that  of  Ruling  Elder  ?  The  Presbyterian  "  Form 
of  Government"  teaches  that  there  is  such  an  office.^  The  Dutch 
Reformed,  and  American  Lutheran,  and  some  other  churches,  are 
of  the  same  opinion.^  And  it  is  well  known  that  our  Pilgrim  Fathers 
originally  held  to  a  distmct  office  of  Euling  Elder,  though  it  soon 
went  into  disuse  in  New  England.  This  —  as  now  held  —  is  a  lay 
office,  and  an  office  of  ruling  simply,  as  distinguished  from  teaching  ; 
the  Presbyterian  *  Book '  declaring  that :  "  the  ordinary  and  perpetual 
officers  in  the  Church  are  Bishops  or  Pastors ;  and  the  representatives 
of  the  people  J  usually  styled  Ruling  Elders  and  Deacons  "  —  so  that  the 
claim  of  its  advocates  is  that  there  are  three  orders  of  permanent  officers 
in  the  Church ;  one  of  the  ministry,  and  two  of  the  laity.  Of  course, 
then,  RuUng  Elders  must  be  radically  distinguished  from  those  Elders 
who  are  the  same  as  "  Bishops  or  Pastors ; "  and  the  question  be- 
comes two-fold;  —  whether  there  are  any  Elders  whose  sole  business 
is  ruling,  distinct  from  other  Elders ;  and,  if  so,  whether  they  are 
laymen  ? 

The  following  are  the  passages  by  which  it  is  claimed  that  this 
office  roots  itself  in  the  soil  of  the  New  Testament,  namely : 

1  "  Ruling  Elders  are  properly  the  representatives  of  the  people,  chosen  by  them  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exercising  government  and  discipline,  in  conjunction  with  pastors  or  ministers.  This 
office  has  been  understood,  by  a  great  part  of  the  Protestant  Reformed  Churches,  to  be  desig- 
nated in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  by  the  title  of  '  governments,'  and  of  those  who  '  rule  well,'  but 
do  not '  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine.'  ''''—Form  of  Gov.  of  Frts.  diurch.   Book  i.  ch.  5. 

2  See  Formula  of  Government  and  Discip.  ofEvang.  Lutli.  Church.  Chap.  iii.  sec.  6;  and  a 
i'  Message  to  Ruling  Elders,'"  etc.    Board  of  Pub.  Ref.  Prot.  Dutch  Church,  passim. 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  Ill 

"  Let  the  Elders  that  rule  well,  be  counted  worthy  of  double  honor, 
especially  they  who  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine."  ^  *'  And  God 
hath  set  some  in  the  Church,  first  Apostles,  secondarily  prophets, 
thirdly  teachers,  after  that  miracles,  then  gifts  of  healings,  helps,  gov- 
ernments, diversities  of  tongues."  ^  "  Having  then  gifts,  differing 
according  to  the  grace  that  is  given  to  us,  whether  prophecy,  let 
us  prophesy  according  to  the  proportion  of  faith  ;  or  ministry,  let  us 
wait  on  our  ministering ;  or  he  that  teacheth,  on  teaching  ;  or  he  that 
exhorteth,  on  exhortation ;  he  that  giveth,  let  him  do  it  with  sim- 
plicity ;  he  that  ndeth  with  diligence  ;  he  that  showeth  mercy,  with 
cheerfulness."^  "  It  seemed  good  unto  us,  being  assembled  with  one 
accord,  to  send  chosen  men  unto  you,  with  our  beloved  Barnabas  and 
Paul ;  men  that  have  hazarded  their  lives  for  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  * 

These  are  all  the  proof-texts  which  the  Presbyterian  *  Book '  cites 
in  evidence.  Dr.  Owen  refers  to  two  or  three  others,  which  are  col- 
lateral and  prove  nothing  unless  the  office  be  first  established  from 
these  ;  ^  so  that  we  may  feel  quite  sure  that  if  the  divine  right  of  the 
Ruling  Lay  Eldership  is  not  here,  it  is  not  anywhere  in  the  New 
Testament.  But  is  it  here  ?  The  last  text  quoted,  clearly  says 
nothing  about  Ruling  Elders.  Judas  and  Silas,  we  are  told  in  a 
previous  verse  ^  (where,  if  they  had  had  any  official  relation  to  the 
Church,  such  a  fact  must  have  received  mention),  were  —  not  Ruling 
Elders,  but  —  ardgag  vjov^ivovg  {andras  hegoumenous),  [literally], 
*  leading  men  among  the  brethren ; '  who  were  here  selected  to  be 
sent  as  delegates  to  the  Church  at  Antioch.  A  little  further  on,"^  we 
read  that  they  were  '  prophets  ; '  and  the  history  of  Silas  is  such  as 
to  make  it  to  the  last  degree  improbable  that  he  sustained  any  per- 
manent official  relation  to  the  Church  at  Jerusalem.^  Unless  every 
delegate  which  a  Church  chooses  from  among  its  '  leading  men '  to 
represent  it  before  another  Church,  or  a  council  of  churches,  is  thereby 
made  a  Ruling  Elder,  this  text  has  no  bearing  upon  the  question  in 


1  Tim.  v:  17.  21  Cor.  xii :  28.  3  Rom.  xii :  6,  8. 

4  Acts  XV :  25,  26.  5  Acts  xx :  28  ;  1  Tim.  iii :  G  ;  Heb.  xiii :  7, 17 ;  Rev.  ii,  iii. 

6  Acts  XV  :  22.  7  Verse  32. 

8  He  accompanied  Paul  on  his  second  Missionary  journey  through  Asia  Minor  to  Macedonia, 
(Acts  XV :  40  ;  xvii :  4),  remained  behind  in  Berea  (xvii :  10, 14),  and  joined  Paul  again  in  Cor- 
inth (xviii :  5  ;  1  Thees.  i :  1 ;  2  Thess.  i :  1),  where  he  preached  with  Paul  and  Timotheus 
(2  Cor.  i :  19),  he  being  called  also  Silvanus.    See  Alford  Com.,  Acts  xv :  22. 


112  COifGEEGATIOKALISM. 

hand.  The  second  text  quoted  is  as  good  in  proof  of  eight  different 
kinds  of  Church  officers,  as  of  three ;  and  —  so  far  as  its  mention  of 
*  governments'  is  concerned — its  etymological  force,  as  we  have  already 
seen,^  is  exhausted  when  it  is  held  to  refer  to  those  persons  in  the 
Church  who  *  pilot '  its  movements.  It  does  not  assert  that  they  are 
officers  specially  appointed  for  this  duty  and  doing  nothing  else ;  nor 
does  it  intimate  that,  if  so,  they  are  laymeuo  The  most  which  can  be 
claimed  from  it  is,  that  if  any  other  passages  can  be  found  establish- 
ing the  lay  Eldership,  it  may  refer  to  such  lay  Elders  as  *  govern- 
ments ; '  otherwise  not.  The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  third  pas- 
sage. It  will  hardly  be  safe  to  infer  from  it  that  there  are  to  be 
seven  officers  in  every  Church :  —  one  to  prophesy,  another  to  minis- 
ter, another  to  teach,  another  to  exhort,  another  to  give,  another  to 
rule,  and  another  to  show  mercy,  yet  there  is  as  much  evidence 
from  it  of  seven  distinct  officers,  with  those  respective  functions,  as 
there  is  from  it  that  "  he  that  ruleth  —  with  diligence,"  is  a  distinct 
officer  known  as  a  lay  Ruling  Elder.  If  any  other  texts  settle  it 
that  there  were  in  the  Apostolic  churches,  and  were  Divinely  in- 
tended to  be  in  every  Church,  lay  Ruling  Elders,  to  whom  belongs 
the  administration  of  government  and  discipline,  then  this  *  ruling, 
with  diligence,'  doubtless  refers  to  them ;  otherwise  not.  The  whole 
question  of  direct  Scriptural  testimony  estabhshing  the  Divine  origin 
and  authority  of  lay  Ruling  Elders  is  then  thrown  upon  the  single 
text  first  cited  above,  namely:  "let  the  Elders  that  rule  well  be 
counted  worthy  of  double  honor,  especially  they  who  labor  in  the 
word  and  doctrine."  If  this  passage  establishes  the  office  of  lay  Rul- 
ing Elders,  then  it  will  explain  into  harmony  with  itself  the  other 
texts  to  which  allusion  has  been  made,  and  we  shall  have  Scriptural 
warrant  for  such  an  office ;  if  it  fails,  the  whole  theory  falls  to  the 
ground.     Concerning  it,  we  suggest :  — 

1.  These  *  Elders '  here  spoken  of,  it  is  reasonable  to  infer  —  in 
the  absence  of  any  hint  to  the  contrary,  in  the  structure  of  the  text  — 
must  be  the  same  TZQEG^vreooi,  (preshuteroi),  of  whom  Paul  has  been 
speaking  in  the  earlier  portion  of  the  Epistle,^  and  whom  he  speaks 
of  again  ^  before  its  close ;  the  same  persons,  in  fact,  who  are  com- 
monly referred  to,  under  that  name,  in  the  New  Testament.     Unless 

1  See  pp.  74,  75.  2  1  Tim.  Ui :  1-7  ;  v :  1.  3  Verse  19. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  113 

this  is  so,  the  Apostle  here  violates  the  first  principles  of  the  use  of 
language,  and  could  not  expect  to  make  himself  rightly  understood. 
But,  if  the  Elders  here  spoken  of  are  the  same  as  have  been  every- 
where else  called  by  that  name,  they  are  the  same  persons  who  are 
also  called  '  Bishops/  and  *  Pastors,'  and  *  Teachers ; '  namely :  the 
Spiritual  guides  of  the  Church  ;  and  hence  they  cannot  be  Voy  Elders 
—  whether  *  Ruling,'  or  otherwise. 

2.  The  very  structure  of  the  verse  is  such  as  grammatically  to 
compel  the  inference  that  the  Elders  who  '  rule  well,'  are  of  the  same 
kind  of  Elders  who  '  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine.'  This  results 
from  the  necessary  force  of  the  adverb  iidhcra  {maltsta),  ^most  of 
all'  whose  force  is  not  to  divide  into  classes,  but  to  indicate  a  distinc- 
tion of  emphasis  between  individuals  of  the  same  class.  It  is  used 
only  twelve  times  m  the  New  Testament.  Of  these,  in  three  cases,^  it 
simply  adds  energy  to  the  assertion  which  is  made.  In  every  instance 
of  the  remaining  eight  (the  passage  under  consideration  being  left  out 
of  the  account),  it  introduces  the  mention  of  particulars  on  which 
stress  is  laid,  which  are  included  in  the  general  mention  of  the  first 
member  ot  the  sentence.^    So  that  to  read  this  adverb  here  as  seclud- 


1  Acts  XX :  38  "  Sorrowing  most  oj  all  for  the  words  which  he  spake,  that  they  should  see 
his  face  no  more;"  Acts  xxv :  26,  —  '■'■  Specially  before  thee,  0  King  Agrippa,"  etc.;  Acts 
xxvi:  3,  —  "I  think  myself  happy,  King  Agrippa,  etc.,  especially  because  I  know  thee  to  be 
expert,"  etc. 

2  Gal.  Ti :  10.  *'  Let  us  do  good  unto  all  men,  especially  unto  them,  [that  portion  of  '  aU 
men  'J  who  are  of  the  household  of  faith." 

Phil,  iv :  22.  "  All  the  saints  salute  you,  chiefly  they,  [that  portion  of '  all  the  saints ']  that 
are  of  Csesar's  household  " 

1  Tim.  iv  :  10.  "  Who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  specially  of  those  [that  portion  of  '  all  men '] 
that  believe  " 

1  Tim  V  •  8.  "  But  if  any  provide  not  for  his  own,  and  specially  for  those  [that  portion  of 
'  his  own  '  that  are  of]  his  own  house,  he  hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel." 

2  Tim.  iv  :  13.  "  The  cloak  that  I  left  at  Troas  with  Carpus,  when  thou  comest,  bring  with 
thee,  and  the  books,  but  especially  [[all  books  were  '  parchments '  then)  that  portion  of  his 
'books  '  which  Timothy  would  understand  by  the  term  raj  fien^pdvai]  the  parchments." 

Titus  i :  10  "  For  there  are  many  unruly  and  vain  talkers  and  deceivers,  specially  [worst 
among  the  '  many']  they  of  the  circumcision." 

Philemon  v.  16.  "A  brother  beloved  [of  all  who  know  him]  specially  to  me  [of  that  all]  but 
how  much  more  unto  thee,"  etc. 

2  Peter  ii :  9, 10  "  The  Lord  knoweth  how  to  deliver  the  godly  out  of  temptations,  and  to 
reserve  the  unjust  unto  the  day  of  judgment  to  be  punished :  but  chiefly  them  [the  Lord  know- 
eth how  to  '  reserve '  that  portion  of  the  '  unjust ']  that  walk  after  the  flesh  in  the  lust  of  un- 
cleanness,"  etc.  If,  now,  we  read  the  text  under  consideration  by  this  invariable  usage  of 
/idAiara  in  such  connection  in  the  New  Testament,  it  will  stand  thus  :  —  "  Let  the  Elders  that 
rule  well  be  counted  worthy  of  double  honor  ;  especially  they  [that  portion  of  •  the  Eiders  that 
rule  well ']  who  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine." 

8 


114  CONGEEGATIOXALISil.       ' 

ing  Elders  that  *rule  well,'  into  a  class   different  from   those  who 

*  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine,'  would  be  to  do  violence  to  the 
analogy  of  its  use  in  every  kindred  passage  in  the  New  Testament. 
But  if  the  Elders  that '  rule  well,'  are  of  the  same  class  as  those  who 

*  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine,'  they  cannot  be  lay  Elders. 

3.  Further,  if  these  '  elders  that  rule  well,'  are  of  such  a  kind  that 
any  of  them  also  *  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine,'  they  cannot  be 
distinguished  into  a  class  which  shall  have  ruling  solely  for  its  func- 
tion ;  for  the  ruling  Elders  of  which  this  text  speaks,  are  to  be  doubly 
honored  for  *  laboring  in  the  word  and  doctrine ; '  that  is,  - —  on  the 
Presbyterian  theory  —  they  are  to  be  specially  commended  for  for- 
saking their  own  function,  and  doing  that,  the  not  doing  of  which  is 
the  only  ground  for  the  separate  existence  of  their  office  in  the 
Church. 

4.  There  is,  then,  not  only  nothing  in  this  text  which  can  be  made, 
without  violent  perversion  of  its  plain  sense,  to  teach  the  Divine  in- 
tention of  lay  Ruling  Elders  as  a  distinct  and  permanent  office  in  the 

The  inevitable  suggestion  of  this  text  is,  then,  that  ruling  belongs  to  all  Elders^  and  laboring 
in  the  word  and  doctrine  only  to  some ;  while  those  who  rule  best  must  be  honored,  particular- 
ly if,  in  addition,  they  also  teach. 

See  Davidson  (Ecclesiastical  Polity  of  the  New  Testament.'''  p.  183,  184.) 

Olshausen  says :  "  It  is  evident  that  the  Apostle  here  distinguishes  between  two  kinds  of 
ruling  presbyters  —  those  who  labor  in  the  word,  and  those  who  do  not.  Both  are  ruling  pres- 
byters, and  from  this  it  already  appears  that  it  is  not  lay  presbyters,  as  many  have  thought, 
that  are  here  spoken  of  in  contradistinction  to  clerical  presbyters;  for  by  Trpoeorwres  npsa- 
(ivTtpoi  can  be  understood  only  presbyters  merely  as  they  are  already  known  to  us." — 
'■^Kendrick^s  Trans.'"  Vol.  vi.  p.  135. 

Alford  says  of  the  -KpeaiivrtfiDi  generally  in  the  New  Testament  (including  those  mentioned 
here),  "  they  are  identical  with  CTtcxKOTroi." — Vol.  ii.  p.  118. 

Even  that  eminent  Presbyterian,  Rev  J  P  Wilson,  D.D.,  who  investigated  the  question 
most  thoroughly,  in  his  work  on  the  '"''Primitive  Government  of  Christian  Churches,"'  concedes 
in  regard  to  this  text  (1  Tim.  v  :  17)  that  it  *•  expresses  a  diversity  in  the  exercise  of  the  presby- 
terial  oflSce,  but  not  in  the  office  itself."  pp.  282,  283.  And  he  consistently  refused  to  have  any 
liuling  Elders  in  his  own  Church.     See  Princeton  Review    (1843.)  Vol.  xv.  p.  325. 

So,  too,  an  able  writer  in  the  Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims  on  "Church  Officers,"  saj'B  of  this  text, 
"  here  the  Elder  is  seen  to  be  one  who  '  labors  in  the  word  and  doctrine,'  i.  e.,  who  is  in  the 
ministry  ;  and  another  word  would  not  be  necessary,  were  it  not  that  some  have  thought  two 
classes  of  Elders  are  here  spoken  of —  one  governing  and  the  other  teaching  the  Church.  But 
it  does  not  appear  that  the  Scriptures  elsewhere  appoint,  or  even  recognize,  a  second  and  subor- 
dinate class  of  Elders.  A  single  passage,  it  is  true,  if  it  fairly  taught  the  doctrine,  were 
enough  ;  and,  hke  the  oath  of  confirmation,  should  be  '  the  end  of  all  strife.'  But  inasmuch 
as  this  text  is  alone,  even  in  seeming  to  intimate  such  a  sentiment ;  and  inasmuch  as  the  inti- 
mation, if  it  be  one,  is  very  remote,  while  the  passage  may  well  be  interpreted  differently  ;  — in 
such  a  case  to  graft  the  sentiment  in  question  upon  the  Bible,  as  an  item  of  Scriptural  doc- 
trine, seems  quite  gratuitous.  The  question  may  well  arise  whether  the  ruling,  spoken  of  in 
this  passage,  is  not  the  prerogative  of  the  ministry  ?  Of  this,  I  think,  there  can  be  no  serious 
aoMht."— Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims.    (1831.)  Vol.  iv.  p.  190- 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  115 

Church,  or  as  an  office  in  it  at  all,^  but  there  is  nothing  in  the  least 
degree  inharmonious  with  the  Congregational  theory  that  these  Elders 
are  the  same  as  the  Bishops,  Pastors  and  Teachers  elsewhere  men- 
tioned as  being  —  with  the  Deacons  —  the  only  officers  of  the  Church. 
We  hold  that  there  is  an  important  sense  in  which  every  Pastor  and 
Teacher  of  a  Church  is  also  its  ruler.  Ruling  implies  guiding  and 
instructing,  and  also  the  carrying  into  execution  of  laws,  not  made 
by  the  Executive.  The  Governor  of  Massachusetts  suggests  to  its 
Legislature  such  guidance  and  instruction  in  regard  to  laws  that 
ought  to  be  enacted  by  them,  as  his  position  prompts  him  to  do ;  and 
then  he  puts  in  execution  whatever  laws  they  are  pleased  to  enjoin. 
Thus  he  is  the  Chief  Ruler  of  the  Commonwealth,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  the  State,  in  its  Legislature,  retains  the  power  to  adopt,  or  reject, 
his  every  proposition,  and  to  enact  every  law,  his  execution  of  which 
makes  him  its  Chief  Ruler.  Similar  is  the  relation  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Pastor  to  his  Church.  Ke  brings  to  its  notice  such  matters  as 
seem  to  him  to  require  action,  and  seeks  to  enlighten  it  in  regard  to 
the  nature  of  that  action,  which,  under  the  circumstances,  he  judges 
will  be  most  grateful  to  Christ ;  and  then,  as  its  executive  officer,  he 
puts  in  operation  such  action  as  it  may  decide  upon  —  whether  in 
coincidence  with  his  own  suggestions  or  not.  Thus  he  is,  in  a  sense, 
its  ruler ;  such  a  sense  as,  in  no  degree,  impairs  its  sovereignty  under 
Christ  over  all  its  affiiirs,  or  its  responsibility  to  Christ  for  them  all. 
In  a  large  Church,  so  situated  as  to  make  this  double  work  of  ruling 
and  teaching  onerous  for  one  Pastor,  —  as  in  some  great  Mission 
Church  in  a  heathen  land,  whose  members  need  more,  both  of  teach- 
ing and  ruling,  than  if  they  had  not  come  out  of  recent  paganism  — 
two  or  more  Pastors  may  be  needful,  and  of  their  number,  one  or 
more,  peculiarly  fitted  by  divine  grace  for  that  department  of  the 
work,  may  become  Elders  "  that  rule  well,'  and  so  *  be  counted  worthy 
of  double  honor ; '  while  if  they  can  both  *  rule  well,'  and  '  labor  in 
the  word  and  doctrine,'  they  will  be  '  especially '  worthy  of  this  aug- 
mented regard  and  reward.  We  have  only  to  suppose  the  Church 
in  Ephesus  —  where  Timothy  was  when  Paul  thus  wrote  to  him  — 


1  "Fuerunt,  qui  in  duas  potissimum  classes  presbyteros  primsevaeecclesiae  digererent,  quarum 
altera  regentium  sive  laicorum  ;  docentium  altera  sire  clericorum  esset.  Quorum  seutentia, 
quum  jamdudum  explosa  sit  Vitringse,  Ilugonis  Grotii,  Bloudelii,  aliorum  hac  de  re  inquisitiou- 
ibus,  —  decies  repetita  baud  placebunt. "—LucA;e.    Com.  p.  103. 


116  CONGREGATIONALISM.      ■■ 

to  be  of  this  description  —  a  supposition  in  itself  every  way  a  probable 
one — and  this  text  describes  exactly  what  would  be  natural  and  proper 
in  a  Congregational  Church  conducted  on  the  ordinary  principles  of 
Congregationalism.  But  if  it  can  be  explained  into  harmony  with 
all  the  other  passages  in  the  New  Testament,  in  which  Elders  are 
mentioned  always  as  being  the  same  as  Pastors,  Teachers,  and 
Bishops,  it  ought  to  be  so  explained. 

Nor  are  we  without  collateral  proof  from  other  passages,  that,  only 
when  so  explained,  do  we  get  its  true  force.  Paul,  speaking  to  the 
Hebrews,  says  :^  "  Remember  them  which  have  the  rule  over  you^^  by 
which  he  must  mean  '  RuUng  Elders,'  if  there  were  any  such  in  the 
Presbyterian  sense ;  yet  he  proceeds  immediately  to  add :  "  who  have 
spoken  unto  you  the  word  of  God^^  etc. ;  proving  that  the  Ruling  El- 
ders whom  he  had  in  mind,  were  not  separate  lay  officers,  but  their 
ordinary  Pastors  and  Teachers.^  And  in  the  same  spirit,  in  the 
same  chapter,  he  says  again :  ^  "  obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over 
you,  and  submit  yourselves,"  —  (surely  these  must  be  the  lay  Ruling 
Elders,  if  there  were  any),  yet  he  describes  them  as  being  those  who 
"  watch  for  your  souls  as  they  that  must  give  account,"  etc. :  —  an  ex- 
pression that  implies,  if  any  thing  emphatically  can,  the  function  of 
Pastors,  and  Teachers,  and  Bishops  of  the  Church.^     So  Paul,  writ- 


1  Ileb.  xiii :  7. 

2  '•'■  Duces,  proEsides  —  leaders,  guides,  directors,  ythich.  hero  means  teachers,  as  the  explana- 
tory clause  that  follows  clearly  shows." — Stuart's  '•'■Hebrews.'''^   (Robbins'  Ed.)  p.  494. 

"  YLyovyiivovi  is  here  applied  to  the  Presbyters  or  Bishops  of  the  Church." — Conybeare  and 
Howson.  Vol.  ii.  p.  547. 

"  Principes,  quod  nomen  hie  optimo  jure  aptatur  iis  qui  apud  Christianos,  per  excellentiam, 
turn  prcBsides,  turn  Episcopi  dicuntur,  quorum  munus  est  non  tantum  praeesse  presbyterio  sed 
et  laborare  in  verbo." — Grotius.  in  loco.  Vol.  iii.  p.  1066. 

"  Hxoi5/z£j/ot  (compare  verses  17,24)  axe  their  leaders  in  the  faith."  —  Alford.  in  loco  Vol. 
iv.  p.  263. 

8  Verse  17. 

4  "These  two  things  ['obedience'  and  'honor']  are  necessarily  required,  so  that  the  people 
might  have  confidence  in  their  pastors,  and  also  reverence  for  them." — Calvin,  in  loco,  "ife- 
brews.''^  p.  352. 

'■'■  Pastoribus  ut  quibus  data  est  potestas,  et  ducendi,  non  cogendi  jus." — Jacobus  Capellus,  in 
Poole.  Syn.  Crit.  in  loco.  Vol.  v.  p.  1406. 

"  Verbum  dypvrri>etv  curam  et  solicitudinem  significant,  quae  maximd  in  Episcopis  requiri- 
tuT.'^—Gerhardus.     Ibid.   p.  1407- 

"  riEpi  crr/o-xJTTWj' >£^tt." — (Ecumenius.   Al ford .  in  loco .   Vol.  iv,  p  269. 

'■'■^AypvnvnvcTi — watch;  the  image  seems  to  be  taken  from  the  practice  of  shepherds,  who 
watch  with  solicitude  over  their  ilocks  in  order  that  they  may  preserve  them  from  the  ravages 
of  wild  beasts."— Smari.  (Robbins' Ed.)  in  loco.   p.  498. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  117 

ing  to  the  Church  at  Thessalonica,  urges  them  "  to  know  them  which 
labor  among  you,  and  are  over  you  in  the  Lord,"i — (the  very  expres- 
sion one  would  thmk  it  natural  for  him  to  have  selected  to  designate 
their  lay  ruling  elders,  if  they  had  any)  —  and  yet  he  immediately 
describes  the  persons  intended  by  him  as  being  those  who  "  admonish 
you,"  [^vovdsjovvzag  —  nouthetountas],  a  word  which  here,  as  in  sev- 
ral  other  passages,^  seems  clearly  to  imply  the  labor  of  the  Pastor 
and  Spiritual  guide. 

5.  Ao-ain,  the  Presbyterian  theory  of  this  text  conflicts  with  records 
made,  and  directions  specially  given  by  the  New  Testament  in  regard 
to  the  right  method  of  ruling  in  the  Church.  That  ruling  must  re- 
spect either  the  admission,  dismission,  or  discipline  of  members ;  the 
choice  of  officers  ;  or  the  transaction  of  current  business.  But  we  have 
already  seeu^  that,  by  precept  and  example,  the  New  Testament 
demands  this  action  directly  from  the  Church  itself,  in  its  entire  male 
membership.  Particularly  clear  is  this  in  the  matter  of  discipline  — 
the  gravest  and  most  solemn  subject  with  which  the  ruling  of  the 
Church  can  ever  have  to  do  —  of  which  Christ  himself  said  "  tell  it 
unto  the  Church'^ ^  How  can  this  direction  be  complied  with  if  a 
Session  of  Elders^  steps  in  between  the  Church  and  the  offender, 
and  rules  him  out,  (or  in)  ;  with  no  direct  action  —  perhaps  even  no 
knowledge  —  of  the  Church  itself  in  the  premises  ?  And  how,  in  the 
absence  of  any  other  passage  claimed  to  teach  directly  any  such  doc- 
trine of  Ruling  Elders,  can  it  be  right  to  interpret  this  passage  — 
which  will  bear  a  natural  interpretation  that  will  harmonize  with  the 
entire  record  —  in  such  a  manner  as  to  nullify  all  those  texts  which 


1  1  Thess.  V :  12 

2  Compare  Acts  xx :  31,  "I  ceased  not  to  warn  every  one  night  and  day  with  tears  ;  "  1  Cor. 
iv :  14,  "  As  my  dear  children  I  warn  you  ;  "  Col.  i :  28,  ''  Whom  we  preach,  warning  every 
man,  and  teaching  every  man,*'  etc. ;  where  the  same  Greek  word,  translated  in  the  text  above 
'  admonish.'  is  used  to  describe  the  tenderest  and  solemnest  function  of  the  Pastor's  office. 

"  The  persons  indicated  by  KOTrtwvraj,  irpinirraiifvnvi,  and  vi)v9€T(ivvTa(:,  are  the  same  ;  viz  : 
the  irpeafSvTepoi  or  cTiiaKorroi.^'' — Alford.  Com,  1  Thess.  v  :  12.   Vol.  iii.  p.  2t)5. 

3  See  pages  9,  and  40-43. 

4  Matt,  xviu  :  17. 

5  The  assumption  sometimes  made  by  Presbyterians  that  Christ's  command  to  "  tell  it  unto 
the  Church,"  means  ''tell  it  to  the  Session  of  Ruling  Elders,'^  (see  "Measog-e  to  Ruling  El- 
ders,^^  p.  8,  etc.)  is  beneath  refutation,  and  can  only  amaze  the  mind  which  reflects  upon  it, 
and  inquires  how,  with  such  principles  of  interpretation,  are  the  Papists,  and  Swedenborgians, 
or  even  the  Mormons,  to  be  logically  foreclosed  from  any  conclusions  their  fancy  may  incline 
them  to  attach  to  any  passage  of  the  Uible  ' 


1 18  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

place  the  responsibility  and  privilege  of  ruling,  distinctly  upon  the 
Church  as  a  body  ? 

6.  But  it  becomes  to  the  last  degree  improbable,  that  this  text  was 
divinely  intended  to  be  the  corner-stone  of  a  special  lay  office  in 
every  Church,  of  a  species  of  Elder  whose  sole  business  should  be 
ruling,  when  we  remember  that  the  New  Testament,  in  its  mention 
of  the  qualifications  of  Elders,  says  of  them  as  a  class,  and  without 
exception,  that  they  must  *  hold  fast  the  faithful  word  as  they  have 
been  taught,  that  they  may  be  able  by  sound  doctrine,  both  to  exhort, 
and  to  convince  the  gainsayers.'^  It  is  strange  that  all  elders  should  be 
required  thus  to  be  *  apt  to  teach,'  if  a  portion  of  them  were  intended 
to  ignore  teaching  altogether,  and  indeed  to  get  the  peculiarity  of  their 
office  from  so  doing ;  while  it  is  incredible  that  a  separate  office  so 
easy  to  be  confounded  with  that  of  the  teaching  Elder,  and  yet  so  im- 
portant to  be  distinguished  from  it,  could  have  existed  in  the  Apos- 
tolic Church,  while  no  reference  whatever  is  made  to  it  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  even  when  the  general  subject  of  the  class,  of  which  this  is 
claimed  to  be  a  species,  is  under  its  consideration ! 

We  conclude,  then,  that  this  text  fails  utterly  to  announce,  to  hint, 
or  even  to  be  in  any  manner,  however  remote,  consistent  with,  the 
theory  of  a  lay  Ruling  Eldership  in  the  Church  of  Clirist ;  or  of  any 
office  of  Ruling  Elder  distinct  from  the  ordinary  Elder,  who  labors  *  in 
the  word  and  doctrine,'  and  is  the  Pastor,  or  Bishop  of  the  Church. 
And  since  this  text  falls,  all  the  other  texts  which  we  have  considered, 
and  whose  explanation  waits  to  be  determined  by  it,  fall  also  to  the 
ground,  and  leave  the  Presbyterian  theory  on  this  subject  without 
the  support  of  a  single  passage  from  the  New  Testament. 

As  to  the  testimony  of  antiquity,  Yitringa,^  Rothe,^  and  Neander,^ 
have  fairly  shown  that  the  few  passages  usually  quoted  by  Presbyte- 
rians from  the  Fathers,  in  proof  of  the  existence  of  a  lay  Ruling  Elder- 
ship in  the  early  Church,  will  not  warrant  the  interpretation  which  they 
put  upon  them ;  and  that  the  office  originated  in  the  mind  of  John  Cal- 
vin.^    The  same  concession  has  been  honorably  made  by  Rev.  J.  P. 


1  Tit.  i  :  9.  i  De  Synag.  Vet.  Lib.  ii.  Chap.  2. 

8  Die  Anfange,  etc.  i :  221.  *  Apos.  Kirche.  i  :  186. 

5  The  passage  of  the  Institutes  by  which  Calvin  first  suggested  the  office  —  so  say  Gieseler, 
Davidson,  and  others  —  is  the  following :"  Duo  autem  sunt  quae  perpetuo  manent:  guber- 
natio,  et  cura  pauperum.  Gubematores  fuisse  existimo  seniores  e  plebe  delectos,  qui  censurae 
morum,  et  exercendse  disciplinse  una  cum  Episcopis  praeessent.    Neque  enim  secus  interpretari 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  119 

"Wilson,  D  D.,  a  learned  and  eminent  Presbyterian  in  this  country, 
who  published  twenty-one  articles  in  the  Monthly  Christian  Spectator 
(a.  d.  1823-1828),  which  were  afterwards  enlarged  into  an  elaborate 
work,  the  object  of  which  was  to  disprove  the  antiquity  of  the  lay 
Eldership  ;  to  dislodge  it  from  any  imagined  proofs  in  the  patristic 
writings  ;  and  to  show  how,  at  Geneva,  in  1541,  Calvin  —  as  the  best 
thing  which  could  be  done  to  meet  an  exigency  which  had  arisen 
then,  and  there,^  —  devised  and  brought  into  operation  the  system 
of  lay  Eldership,  and  afterward  attempted  to  justify  it  from  the 
Bible.^  To  the  research  and  reasoning  employed  by  him,  nothing 
needs  to  be  added,  for  they  do  the  work  thoroughly  and  forever ;  so  that 
it  is  difficult  to  see  how  those  who  master  the  facts  of  his  essay,  can 
resist  their  force,  and  continue  to  uphold  the  office  whose  pretensions 
to  any  Divine  origin,  or  authority,  it  utterly  demolishes.  Indeed  the 
ablest  Presbyterians  are  accustomed  to  rest  the  claim  of  the  office 
upon  expediency,  rather  than  upon  Divine  enactment,  or  Biblical 
warrant;  taking  the  ground  that  "having  constituted  the  Church  a 
distinct  society,  he  [Christ]  thereby  gave  it  the  right  to  govern  itself, 


queas  quod  dicit  {Rom.  xii :  8) :  '  Qui  praeest,  id  faciat  in  soUicitudine.'  Habuit  igitur  ab  initio 
unaquaeque  Ecclesia  suum  senatum,  conscriptum  ex  Tins  piis,  gravibus  et  Sanctis  •  penes 
quern  erat  ilia,  de  qua  postea  loquemur,  jurisdictio  in  corrigendis  vitiis.  Porro  ejusmodi  ordi- 
nem  non  unius  saeculi  fuisse,  experientia  ipsa  declarat.  Est  igitur  et  hoc  gubemationis  munus 
saeculis  omnibus  necessarium." — '■'■Institutes.^''  Lib.  iy.  cap.  iii.  sec.  8.  (Ed.  Tholuck,  1846  ) 
p  218. 

Dr.  DaTidson  says  :  "  The  office  now  termed  the  Ruling  Eldership  was  invented  by  CaMn 
After  creating  it,  he  naturally  enough  endeavored  to  procure  Scripture  proof  in  its  favor  Dr 
King  quotes  the  usual  passages  from  Cyprian,  Origen,  and  Hilary,  to  show  that  these  fathers 
were  acquainted  with  this  office  ;  but  the  proof  will  not  suilice  to  convince  an  honest  inquirer. 
Surely  if  he  had  known  the  thorough  examination  to  which  these  quotations  have  been  sub- 
jected by  Rothe  and  Neander,  he  would  have  allowed  them  to  sleep  undisturbed,  rather  than 
affix  interpretations  to  them  which  they  refuse  to  bear.  We  repeat  our  assertion  that  Calvin 
created  that  office.  Vitringa  demolished  it  with  learned  and  unanswerable  arguments  Let 
the  advocates  of  it  refute  him  if  they  be  able" — Ecclesiastical  Polity  of  New  Test,''''  p.  193. 

1  Calvin  himself  says  in  regard  to  it,  after  its  establishment .  — ''  Nunc  habemus  gualecunque 
Presbyterorum  judicium,  et  formam  disciplinae  qualem  ferebat  temperum  infirmitas.''''  — 
Epist.  54. 

2  Dr.  Wilson  sums  up  his  argument,  as  follows  •  —  "It  has  now  fairly  resulted  from  this  in- 
vestigation, that  a  special  form  of  ecclesiastical  government  was  adopted  by  the  Genevese  at  the 
Reformation  ;  not  because  it  was  found,  by  Scriptural  precept  or  example,  to  have  been  the 
original  Apostolic  scheme  ;  but  because  the  nearest  approach  to  the  true  one,  which  the  pecu- 
liar circumstances  of  the  Canton,  and  the  exigencies  of  the  times,  would  admit.  .  .  .  Had  Calvin 
justified  the  expedient  by  the  necessity  of  the  case,  he  would  have  betrayed  his  design,  and 
prevented  others  from  the  benefit  of  his  example ;  but  he  gave  ease  to  his  conscience,  and 
plausibility  to  his  conduct,  by  seeking  a  defence  from  the  Scripturei."— iUo^tA^y  Chsristian 
Spectator.   Vol  x.  (1828.)  p.  64. 


120  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

according  to  the  general  principles  revealed  in  his  word ; "  and,  if  it 
be  objected  against  this  that  it  opens  the  way  for  "  human  devices," 
replying  that  "  if  Christ  has  given  his  Church  the  power  of  self-gov- 
ernment, what  the  Church  does  in  the  exercise  of  that  power  —  if 
consistent  with  his  revealed  will  ^  —  has  as  much  his  sanction  as  it 
well  could  have  under  any  theory  of  Church  government."  ^  Upon 
this  question  of  the  expediency  of  the  government  of  the  Church  by 
lay  ruling  Elders,  we  shall  have  something  to  say  hereafter,^  only 
here  remarking  that  the  acceptance  of  such  a  vital  change  in  the 
method  of  Church  ruling  which  Christ  suggested,  and  the  Apostles 
arranged,  and  the  early  Churches  practiced,  avowedly  on  the  ground 
of  simple  expediency,  seems  to  us  a  procedure  opening  a  very  wide 
logical  door  for  error  in  other  directions,  which  its  advocates  must 
speedily  hasten  to  shut,  if  pressed  by  the  hypothesis  of  *  expediency ' 
in  regard  to  other  doctrines  and  practices.  This  danger  has,  indeed, 
been  seen  by  some,  and  has  led  them  to  throw  out  this  claim  of  ex- 
pediency altogether,  and  the  more  earnestly  to  return  to  the  Bible  in 
the  attempt  to  engraft  the  office  upon  some  passage  there.^  Dr.  Breck- 
inridge and  Dr.  Thorn  well  have  recently  made  a  new  effort  to  adjust 
the  question,  by  taking  the  ground  that   the  Presbyterian  '  Ruling 


1  Is  a  Session  of  Ruling  Elders  coming  between  "  the  Church  "  and  duties  Scripturally  en- 
joined upon  it  from  the  lips  of  Christ  himself,  "  consistent  with  his  revealed  will? " 

2  Princeton  Review,  (1843.)  Vol.  xt.  pp.  319-332. 
a  See  Chap.  iv. 

4  Well  say  the  authors  of  the  ^^ Divine  Right  of  Church  Government:  wherein  it  is  proved 
that  the  Presbyterian  Government  may  lay  the  only  lawful  claim  to  a  Divine  Right,'^  etc. ;  "  If 
mere  prudence  be  counted  once  a  sufficient  foundation  for  a  distinct  kind  of  Church  officer,  we 
shall  open  a  door  for  Church  officers  at  pleasure  ;  then  welcome  commissioners  and  committee 
men,  etc  ,  yea,  then  let  us  return  to  the  vomit,  and  resume  prelates,  deacons,  archdeacons, 
chancellors,  officials,  etc  ,  for  Church  officers.  And  where  shall  we  stop  ?  Who  but  Christ 
Jesus  himself  can  establish  new  officers  in  his  Church  ?  .  .  .  Certainly  if  the  Scriptures  lay  not 
before  us  grounds  more  than  prudential  for  the  Ruling  Elder,  it  were  better  never  to  have 
mere  Ruling  Elders  in  the  Church."— (Ed  New  York,  1844.)   p.  114. 

So  the  author  of  a  series  of  articles  in  the  Presbyterjany  on  the  '^^ Rights  of  Ruling  Elders,'''* 
urges,  with  great  force,  the  fact  that  the  office  must  rest  upon  the  ground  "  either  of  human 
expediency,  or  divine  warrant  If  upon  the  former^  then  it  is  a  human  device,  etc  ...  If  the 
Ruling  Elder  is  not  a  Scriptural '  presbyter,'  and  his  office  a  Divine  institution,  then  of  course 
we  claim  for  him  no  part  of  the  powers  of  ordination,  or  any  other  presby  terial  power  ;  it  would 
be  manifestly  inconsistent  to  accord  him  any,  and  in  this  view  our  constitution  has  done  what 
it  had  no  right  to  do,  viz :  added  to  the  appointments  of  God,  as  to  the  government  of  the 
Church."  So,  in  speaking  of  Acts  xiv  :  23,  this  writer  affirms :  "  if  these  [Elders  ordained  in 
every  Church]  were  all  preaching  Elders,  it  is  fatal  to  Presbyterianism  ; "  and  adds  again  —  "  if 
the  Ruling  Elder  bo  not  a  Scriptural  Presbyter,  but  a  mere  layman  —  an  officer  of  human  ap- 
pointment— why  say  so,  and  let  him  be  shorn  of  all  his  assumed  presbyterial  powers,"  etc. — 
See  the  Presbyterian,  (Nos.  614-626.J 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  121 

Elder*  is  tlie  *  Presbyter'  of  the  New  Testament  —  of  which  generic 
office  the  Preaching  Elder  constitutes  a  species ;  whence  they  argue 
that  Ruling  Elders  ought  to  be  admitted  to  take  part  in  ordination 
with  the  Preaching  Elders,  in  the  "  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the 
Presbytery,"  ^  etc.  This  view,  which  certainly  has  the  advantage  of 
looking  more  Scriptural  than  that  of  Calvin,  —  yet  which  is  radically 
destructive  of  the  whole  Presbyterian  polity  —  has  been  earnestly  as- 
saulted by  Rev.  Dr.  Smyth,  in  the  Princeton  Review  for  1860,  at  the 
length  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  octavo  pages.^  It  may 
reasonably  be  presumed  that  the  end  of  the  discussion  is  not  yet. 
Meanwhile  it  is  difficult  to  see  how,  on  either  theory,  are  to  be  ex- 
plained the  practical  facts  that  this  Elder  —  who  is  specially  commis- 
sioned to  rule  in  the  Church,  whether  of  the  same  class  with  the 
Preaching  Elder,  or  not  —  in  reality  never  does  rule  in  the  judica- 
tories of  the  Church,  but  must  always  yield  the  claim  to  the  mere 
Preaching  Elder  ;^  and  that,  when  he  is  declared  worthy  of  "double 
maintenance"^  if  he  can  "  rule  well,"  the  Ruling  Elder  is  never  sup- 
ported by  the  Church  at  all,  but  only  the  Preaching  Elder  1 

In  order  to  understand  the  position  of  our  Pilgrim  Fathers  on  this 


1  ''•Knowledge  of  God,  subjectively  considered.''^  pp.  629,  641,  and  Southern  Presbyterian  Re- 
view, (1859),  p,  615.  Dr.  Adger  {^'Inaugural  Discourse  on  Church  History,'^  etc.,  in  Southern 
Pies.  Rev.  (1859),  p.  171,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Thompson,  late  of  BufEalo,  (in  his  opening  discourse  be- 
fore the  New  School  General  Assembly  of  1859,  as  reported  in  the  Neio  York  Observer)  are  un- 
derstood to  take  substantially  the  same  ground  with  Drs.  Breckinridge  and  Thornwell. 

2  Princeton  Review,  Vol.  xxxii-  pp.  185-236,  449-472,  702-758.  Dr.  Smyth  thinks  he  provea 
that  this  new  theory  (1)  destroys  the  argument  for  Presbyterianism  ;  (2)  destroys  the  ministry 
as  a  distinct  order ;  (3)  undermines  the  argument  for  the  truth  of  Christianity  ,  (4)  destroys  the 
Ruling  Eldership  ;  and  (5)  destroys  the  Deaconship. 

3  "  The  Pastor  of  the  congregation  shall  always  be  the  moderator  of  the  session." — '■'■Book,'''' 
Chap  ix.  sec.  3.  So  the  moderator  of  the  Synods,  and  of  the  General  Assembly  must  preach, 
and,  of  course,  must  be  a  preaching  Elder. — '■'■Book.''''   Chap  xi.  sec  5,  and  Chap.  sii.  sec.  7. 

*  This  is  the  conceded  force  of  the  futrMq  rt^ns  a^^oiJo-Qcjcraf  of  1  Tim  v :  17. 

"  It  is  evident  that  not  merely  honor,  but  recompense,  is  here  in  question." — Mford.  Com. 
1  Tim  V  :  17.  Vol.  iii.  p  335. 

"  It  is  honor,  but  an  honor  which  finds  its  expression  in  giving,  as  verse  18  proves." — Ols- 
haitsen    (Kendrick's  Ed.)  in  loco.   Vol.  vi.  p.  135. 

"  Qui  vero  ita  occupati  erant,  minus  vacabant  opificio,  et  rei  familiari,  et  digni  erant  compen- 
satione." — Bengel.    "■  Gnomon.'''' in  loco,   p   832 

'•  Videtur  autem  duplicem  honor  em  dicere  et  alimenta,  quae  et  ipsa  illis  cum  honore  dantur, 
ut  Regibus  tributa."— GVofius.  in  loco.    Vol   iii.  p   975 

"  Duplici,  id  est  copioso  honore,  sub  quo  etiam  comprehendit  alimenta,  aliaque  subsidia  ad 
vitam  sustentandam,  munusque  quod  gerunt  recte  administrandura,  necessaria,  ut  qui  mul- 
tos  hospitio  excipere  debeant  (1  Tim.  iii :  2)  ^'—Brennius.  in  loco.  Fol.  88. 


122  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

subject,  and  to  know  the  exact  type  and  force  of  their  idea  of  Ruling 
Elders,  we  need  to  consider  two  facts.  In  the  first  place,  they  were 
led,  in  the  outset,  by  their  great  reverence  for  the  very  letter  of  the 
Word  of  God,  to  put  too  close  an  interpretation  upon  Rom.  xii :  7,  8, 
and  its  kindred  passages ;  while,  in  the  second  place,  they  were  con- 
strained, by  their  reluctance  to  commit  themselves  to  that  democracy 
which  was  then  so  dreaded  in  the  State,  to  repress  the  breadth  and 
fullness  of  their  exposition  of  such  texts  as  throw  the  whole  respon- 
sibility of  the  affairs  of  the  Church,  under  Christ,  upon  the  entire 
membership.  Hence  they  started  with  the  theory  of  five  officers  in 
every  Church,  namely:  Pastor,  Teacher,  Ruler,  Deacon  and  Dea- 
coness,^ because  they  supposed  that  number  to  be  required  by  those 

1  Browne,  in  hia  "  Points  and  Parts  of  all  Divinity, '''>  etc  (A.  D.  1582.  4to,  pp.  112),  calls  the  five 
Officers,  ''Pastor,  Teacher,  Elder,  Reliever,  and  Widow.'''— Defs.  53,  54.  Hanbury.  A'ol.  i.  p.  21 

The  '■'True  Description,  out  of  the  Word  of  God,  of  the  Visible  Church,''''  attributed  to  Cljfton, 
or  Smyth  (A.  D.  1589,  4to,  pp.  8),  says  of  the  Church,  "she  enjoyeth  most  holy  and  heavenly 
laws ,  most  faithful  and  vigilant  Pastors,  most  sincere  and  pure  Teachers ;  most  careful  and 
upright  Governors ;  most  diligent  and  trusty  Deacons  ;  most  loving  and  sober  Relievers ;  and  a 
most  humble,  meek,  obedient,  faithful,  and  loving  people,"  etc. — Hanbury.   Vol.  i.  pp.  29-34. 

So,  Strype  tells  us  that  in  the  examination  of  Mr  Daniel  Buck,  Scrivener,  of  the  Borough  of 
Southwarl*,  taken  before  three  magistrates  March  9,  1592-3,  he  saith  —  (in  reference  to  the 
afEEiirs  of  the  Congregational  Church  of  which  he  was  a  member)  that  "  Mr.  Francis  Johnson 
was  chosen  Pastor ;  and  Mr.  Greenwood,  Doctor  [Teacher]  ;  and  Bowman  and  Lee,  Deacons ; 
and  Studley  and  George  Kniston  Apothecary,  were  chosen  Elders,  in  the  house  of  one  Fox,  in 
St  Nicholas  Lane.  London  [this  house  is  now  known  as  No.  80,  King  William  Street],  abnut 
half  a  year  sithence,  all  in  one  day,  by  their  congregation  ;  or  at  Mr.  Bilson-s  house  in  tree 
Church  ;  he  remembereth  not  whether,"  etc. — *' Annals.''''   Vol.  iv.  p  174. 

John  Robinson,  in  his  "Catechism  "  annexed  to  Mr.  Perkins"  "  Six  Principles,"  has  the  fol- 
lowing answer  to  a  question  asking  for  the  "  gifts  and  works  "  of  the  five  officers  of  the  Church. 
"  (1)  The  Pastor  (exhorter)  to  whom  is  given  the  gift  of  wisdom  for  exhortation.  (2)  The  Teach- 
er, to  whom  is  given  the  gift  of  knowledge  for  doctrine.  (3)  The  Governing  Elder,  who  is  to 
rule  with  diligence  (Eph.  iv :  11 ;  1  Cor.  xii :  8  ;  Rom.  xii :  8  ;  1  Tim.  v  .  17).  (4)  The  Deacon 
who  is  to  administer  the  holy  treasure  with  simplicity.  (5)  The  Widow  (or  Deaconess),  who  is 
to  attend  the  sick  and  impotent  with  compassion  and  cheerfulness.  (Acts  vi :  2-7 ;  1  Tim.  iii : 
8, 10,  etc. ;  V :  9, 10 ;  Rom.  xvi;  \).— Works.  Vol.  iii.  p.  429. 

Governor  Bradford,  in  his  account  of  the  rise  of  the  movement  in  England,  which  culminated 
in  New  England,  says  :  "  The  one  side  laboured  to  have  ye  right  worship  of  God  &  discipline 
of  Christ  established  in  ye  Church,  according  to  ye  simplicitie  of  ye  Gospell,  without  the  mix- 
ture of  mens  inventions,  and  to  have  &  to  be  ruled  by  ye  laws  of  God's  word,  dispensed  in  those 
offices,  &  by  those  officers  of  Pastors,  Teachers  Sf  Elders,  &c..  according  to  ye  Scripturs,"  etc. 
''Piimouth  Plantation.'-'   (Ed.  1856.)  p.  4. 

Gov.  Bradford  also  has  recorded  the  following  interesting  facts  in  reference  to  the  emigrant 
churches  sojourning  in  Holland  ;  He  says;  "At  Amsterdam,  before  their  division  and  breach, 
they  were  about  three  hundred  communicants,  and  they  had  for  their  pastor  and  teacher  those 
two  eminent  men  before  named,  [Johnson  and  Ainsworth]  and  in  our  time  four  grave  men  for 
billing  Elders,  and  three  able  and  godly  men  for  Deacons,  one  ancient  widow  for  a  Deaconess, 
etc  .  .  And  for  the  Church  at  Leyden  [Robinson's  own]  they  were  sometimes  not  much  fewer 
in  number,  nor  at  all  inferior  in  able  men,  though  they  had  not  so  many  officers  as  the  other ; 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  123 

passages  which  bear  upon  the  subject  in  the  New  Testament ;  and 
then  —  in  order  to  assign  work  for  the  ^  Ruler '  which  sJiould  harmo- 
nize with  the  functions  of  the  *  Pastor '  and  *  Teacher,'  on  the  one 
hand,  and  with  the  rights  of  the  membership  of  the  Church  on  the 
other, — they  evolved  a  theory  of  Ruling  Eldership  which  was  yet  not 
very  consistent  with  itself,  nor  with  the  Scripture  on  which  they  rest- 
ed it ;  while  it  proved  to  be  so  inconsistent  with  other  vested  rights, 
and  with  the  general  teaching  of  Providence  in  the  course  of  subse- 
quent affairs,  as  to  compel  them  at  last  to  abandon  the  experiment, 
give  up  the  office,  transfer  a  part  of  the  powers  they  had  entrusted 
to  it  to  the  Pastor,  and  a  part  to  the  membership,  and  boldly  avow 
that  the  power  of  Church  ruling  is  put  by  Christ  upon  the  Church,  as 
a  body,  under  the  guidance  of  its  Pastor  and  Teacher. 

The  function  of  the  Ruling  Elder,  according  to  their  original  con- 
ception of  the  office,  was  ten-fold ;  namely:  (1)  to  take  the  initiative 
in  the  admission  and  dismission  of  members ;  ^  (2)  to  moderate  the 
meetings  of  the  Church  ;  ^  (3)  to  prepare  all  matters  of  business  for 
the  action  of  the  brotherhood ;  ^  (4)  to  exercise  a  general  oversight 
over  the  private  conduct  of  the  members  of  the  Church,  with  a  view 
to  see  that  none  walk  disorderly ;  ^  (5)  to  settle  all  offences  between 
brethren  privately,  if  possible ;  ^  otherwise  (6)  to  bring  offenders  to 
the  judgment  of  the  Church,  and  execute  its  censures  ;  ^  (7)  to  call  the 
Church  together  and  dismiss  it  with  the  benediction ;  "^  (8)  to  ordain 


for  they  had  but  one  Ruling  Elder,  with  their  Pastor,  a  man  well  approved  and  of  great  integ- 
rity, also  they  had  three  able  men  for  Deacons." — ^^ Dialogue  between  some  Young  Men,  etc, 
and  sundry  Ancient  men,''''  etc.,  in  Young's  "  Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,^''  etc.  pp.  455,  456. 
Lechford  (A.  D.  1641),  writes  of  the  churches  in  New  England,  that  they  have  five  offices, 
"  that  is  to  say,  Pastors  and  Teachers,  Ruling  Elders,  Deacons  and  Deaconesses  (or  widowes)." 
— ^'Plaine  Dealing.^''   Mass.  Hist.  Coll.   Vol.  iii  Third  Series    p  69. 

1  See  Robinson's  "Jms«  and  Necessary  Apology,'^''  etc.  Works  Vol.  iii.  p.  81 ;  John  Davenport's 
"Power  of  Congregational  Churches  Asserted  and  Vindicated.''''  p.  95  ;  John  Cotton's  '■'■Way  of 
the  Churches,''''  p  36;  Hooker's  '•'■  Surrey  of  the  Summe  of  Church  Discipline.''''  Partii.  p.  18; 
Cambridge  Platform,  Chap.  vii.  sec.  2.  (1.)  ;   Chap.  x.  sec  9, 

2  Cotton's  '■'■Way;"  etc.  p.  37  ;  Platfcrrm,  Chap.  vii.  sec  2.  (4);  Chap  x.  sec.  8. 

3  Robinson's  ^'Apology.'''  Works.  Vol.  iii.  p.  81 ;  Cotton's  ''■Keyes,^^  etc.  p.  52  ;  Platform, 
Chap.  vii.  sec.  2.  (8) ;  Hooker's  "Survey,''''  Partii.  p.  16 

*  Cotton's  "JffT/es,"  etc.  p.  53;  Platform,  Chap.  vii.  sec.  2.  (6) ;  Hooker's  "S'i^mwe,"  Part 
ii.  p.  18. 

5  Cotton's  "iray,"  etc.  p.  37  ;  Platform^  Chan,  vii  sec  2.  (7)  ;  Hooker's  "Summe.'"  Part 
ii.  p  18. 

6  Cotton's  *'K«yes,"  etc.  p.  52;  "Way,"  etc.  p  86;  Platform,  Chap.  x.  sec.  9;  Robinson's 
"Apology,^'  Vol.  iii  p.  43. 

J  Platform,  Chap.  x.  sec  9;  Cotton's  "Keyes,''  etc.  p.  53. 


124  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

those  persons  whom  the  membership  may  choose  to  office ;  ^  (9)  to 
visit  the  sick;^  (10)  to  teach,  in  the  absence  of  the  Pastor  and 
Teacher.^ 

Such  varied  —  and  much  f  it  delicate  —  work  as  this,  must  have 
required  specially  wise  men  to  do  it,  or  it  could  not  be  well  done. 
Moreover,  such  an  Eldership  must  everywhere  have  threatened  the 
rights  of  the  membership ;  and  must  have  been  hard  to  class,  and 
especially  difficult  to  fill,  without  breeding  discord  in  the  Body.  Our 
Fathers  were  not  quite  sure  whether  it  was  a  lay  office  or  not ;  Rob- 
inson demanding  that  all  Ruling  Elders  should  be  "  apt  to  teach,"  * 
and  Cotton  <  utterly  denying  *  them  to  be  '  Lay-men  ; '  ^  while  the 
Cambridge  Platform  declared  that  "  the  Ruling  Elder's  work  is  to  join 
with  the  Pastor  and  Teacher  in  those  acts  of  Spiritual  rule  which 
are  distinct  from  the  ministry  of  the  Word  and  Sacraments,"  ^  and 
shrank  their  teaching  into  the  poor  lay  privilege  "  to  feed  the  flock 
of  God  with  a  word  of  admonition."  It  was  agreed,  however,  that 
the  Ruling  Elders  must  act  in  connection  with  the  Teaching  Elders, 
who  —  in  the  words  of  Thomas  Prince  —  "  have  the  power  both  of 
Overseeing,  Teaching,  Administring  the  Sacraments,  and  Ruling 
too ; "  and  "  that  the  Elders  of  Both  Sorts  form  the  Presbytery  of 
Overseers  &  Rulers,  which  shou'd  be  in  every  particular  Church ; 
And  are  in  Scripture  called  sometimes  Presbyters  or  Elders,  some 
times  Bishops  or  Overseers,  sometimes  Guides  &  sometimes  Rulers'* ' 


1  Cotton'8  "Zeyes,"  p.  51 ;  Platform^  Chap.  ix.  sec.  3.  See  also  Mather's  Magnelia,  (Ed. 
1853.)   Vol.  ii.  p.  241. 

2  Cotton's  •'  Hay,"  etc.  p.  37  ;  Platform,  Chap.  vii.  sec.  ii.  (9). 

8  Robinson's  '■'■Apology.''^  Works.  Vol.  iii.  p.  28;  also  Robinson's  and  Brewster's  '■'■Letter  to 
Sir  John  Wolstenholme.''''  Works.  Vol.  3.  p.  488;  Cotton's  "Way,"  etc.  p.  37;  Cotton's 
^'- Reyes,''''  etc.  pp.  49-51 ;  Prince's  '■'■Annals.''''  Vol.  i.  p.  92. 

4  Works.  Vol.  iii.  p.  28.  6  "  TFay,"  etc.  p.  33. 

6  Chap.  vii.  sec.  2. 

^  ''■New  England  Chronology.''''  (Ed.  1736.)  Vol.  i.  p.  92.  The  actual  work  done  by  the  New 
England  Ruling  Elder  is  perhaps  better  described  by  Gov.  Hutchinson,  than  anywhere  else  ; 
though  his  account  indicates  that  there  was  a  discrepancy  on  some  points  between  the  practice 
of  the  churches,  and  the  theory  set  forth  above.  He  says  :  —  "In  matters  of  olFence,  the  Rul- 
ing Elder,  after  the  hearing,  asked  the  Church  if  they  were  satisfied ;  if  they  were  not,  he  left 
it  to  the  Pastor  or  Teacher,  to  denounce  the  sentence  of  excommunication,  suspension,  or  ad- 
monition, according  as  the  Church  had  determined.  Matters  of  offence,  regularly,  were  first 
brought  to  the  Ruling  Elder  in  private,  and  might  not  otherwise  be  told  to  the  Church.  It 
was  the  practice  for  the  Ruling  Elders  to  give  public  notice  of  such  persons  as  desired  to  enter 
into  Church  fellowship  with  them,  and  of  the  time  proposed  for  admitting  them,  if  no  sufficient 
objection  was  offered;  and  when  the  time  came,  to  require  all  persons  who  knew  any  just 
grounds  of  objection  to  signify  them.    Objections  were  frequently  made,  and  until  they  were 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  125 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  such  an  office  contained  within  itself 
the  elements  of  its  own  dissolution.  It  could  not  be  practically  in- 
wrought into  the  working  of  a  Congregational  Church,  without  a 
friction  on  all  sides,  that  must  inevitably  lead,  sooner  or  later,  to  its 
abandonment.  If  its  duties  were  zealously  performed,  they  would 
clash  in  several  obvious  particulars ;  on  the  one  side,  with  those  of 
the  Pastor  —  who  was  already  subdivided  (by  a  process,  which,  if 
clear  in  theory,  never  became  entirely  so  in  practice),  by  the  erection 
of  a  Co-Pastor  by  his  side,  under  the  name  of  Teacher,^  and  on  the 
other,  with  those  of  the  Deacon — so  that  sensible  men  looking  on,  soon 
came  to  the  practical  conclusion  of  Gov.  Hutchinson,  —  who  argued 
that  every  thing  appertaining  to  "  the  peculiar  province  of  the  Ruling 

heard  and  determined,  the  Ruling  Elder  seems  to  have  moderated  in  the  Church,  but  the 
Church's  consent  to  the  admission  was  asked  by  the  Pastor  or  Teacher,''^  [Lechford  says,  (A.  D. 
1641),  that  the  Ruling  Elder  put  the  question  to  the  Church,  "  Plain  Deeding,"  Mass.  Hist. 
Coll.,  Vol.  iii.  Third  Series,  p.  71],  "who  also  rehearsed  and  proposed  the  Church  covenant, 
and  declared  them  members.  When  a  minister  preached  to  any  other  than  his  own  Church, 
the  Ruling  Elder  of  the  Church  after  the  psalm  sung,  said  publicly,  'if  this  present  brother 
hath  any  word  of  exhortation  for  the  people  at  this  time,  in  the  name  of  God,  let  him  say  on.' 
The  Ruling  Elder  always  read  the  psalm.  When  the  member  of  one  Church  desired  to  receive 
the  sacrament  at  another,  he  came  to  the  Ruling  Elder,  who  proposed  his  name  to  the  Church 
for  their  consent.  At  the  communion  they  sat  with  the  minister.  I  find  nothing  further  re- 
lating to  this  officer  in  their  public  assemblies.  They  were  considered,  without  doors,  as  men 
for  advice  and  council  in  religious  matters  ;  they  visited  the  sick,  and  had  a  general  inspection 
and  oversight  of  the  conduct  of  their  brethren."  — "  iJts/ory  of  the  Colony  of  Mass.  Bay,'' 
(Ed.  1765.)  Vol.  i.  p.  426 

1  "  The  Pastor—  on  whom  chiefly  devolved  the  care  of  the  flock  when  out  of  the  pulpit  — 
was  expected  to  spend  his  strength  mostly  in  exhortation,  persuading  and  rousing  the  Church 
to  a  wise  diligence  in  the  Christian  calling.  The  Teacher  was  to  indoctrinate  the  Church,  and 
labor  to  increase  the  amount  of  religious  knowledge.    His  workshop  was  the  study  ;  while  the 

Pastor  toiled  in  the  open  field In  the  estimation  of  our  fathers,  the  Pastor's  station  was 

considered  to  have  rather  the  priority  in  importance  and  dignity,"  —  McClure's  Life  of  John 
Cotton,  pp.  115,  116. 

The  only  instance  in  which  this  distinction  was  practically  recognized  in  the  churches  of 
New  Hampshire,  is  believed  to  have  been  by  the  Church  in  Hampton  —  the  oldest  in  that 
State  —  which,  in  1639,  invited  Rev.  Timothy  Dalton  to  act  as  Teacher,  with  Rev.  Stephen  Bach- 
iler  as  Pastor  ;  and  which  subsequently  associated  with  Mr.  Dalton  two  other  ministers  in  suc- 
cession. (See  Lawrence's  New  Hampshire  Churches,  pp.  64,  65.)  Some  idea  of  the  respective 
salaries  of  Pastor,  Teacher,  and  Ruling  Elder  (when  the  latter  had  any  pay,)  may  be  got  from 
the  following  entry  in  the  Church  Record  of  the  Second  Church  in  Boston,  of  date,—"  21st  day 
of  ye  6th  mo.  1662."  —  "  The  Church  of  ye  North  end  of  Boston  met  at  Bro.  Collicott's,  and 
there  did  agree  y'  Mr  Mayo  [Pastor]  should  have,  out  of  what  is  given  to  ye  Church  annually 
£65,  Mr  Mather  [Increase,  who  was  '  Teacher ']  £50 ;  and  Mr  Powell  [Ruling  Elder]  £25  ;  and 
this  annually,  provided  they  that  have  engaged  perform  their  engagement.  And  of  ye  contri- 
button,  Mr  Mayo  to  have  s.20  weekly,  and  Mr  Mather  s.20,  and  Mr  Powell  s.l5  weekly,  —  pro- 
vided ye  contribution  hold  out ;  and,  if  it  abate,  each  one  of  the  above-said  to  abate  according 
to  proportion  ;  and  if  ye  contribution  superabound,  then  ye  overplus  to  be  kept,  till  occasion 
call  for  it,  and  then  to  be  disposed  of  by  the  Church's  order.  And  to  this  we  are  all  agreed." 
(See  Robbins'  History  of  the  iSecond  Church,  pp.  11,  12  ) 


126  CONGfiEGATIONALISM. 

Elder,  so  far  as  it  is  in  itself  necessary  or  proper,  may  with  propriety 
enough  be  performed  by  the  minister."  ^  The  main  objection,  how- 
ever, to  the  office,  consisted  in  the  fact  that  so  far  as  this  '  Presby- 
tery '  —  composed  of  the  Teaching  and  Ruhng  Elders  —  really  at- 
tempted to  rule  the  Church,  they  came  into  conflict  with  the  claims 
of  the  membership  to  rule  themselves  —  founded  on  one  of  the  great 
first  principles  of  tlie  Puritan  movement,  and  guaranteed  by  the  con- 
ceded force  of  clear  Scriptural  warrant ;  while  if  they  only  '  made 
beHeve '  rule,  they  stultified  themselves,  and  by  practically  emptying 
the  passages  on  which  the  office  was  based  of  all  real  force,  they,  for 
substance,  acknowledged  that  it  was  a  sham  and  a  failure.  This  led 
to  inconsistencies,  in  both  theory  and  practice,  from  which  even  the 
clear  mind  of  John  Robinson  did  not  relieve  itself.^   Differences  arose 


1  History  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  Vol.  i.  p.  426. 

a  When  pressed  towards  the  democratic  aspect  of  the  Church,  we  find  him  acknowledging  it 
to  the  full.  He  says  (  Works,  Vol.  ii.  p.  132),  "  This  we  hold  and  affirm,  that  a  company  con- 
sisting though  but  nftwo  or  three,  separated  from  the  world  (whether  unchristian  or  auti-chris- 
tian),  and  gathered  into  the  name  of  Christ  by  a  covenant  made  to  walk  in  all  the  ways  of  God 
made  known  unto  men ;  is  a  Church,  and  so  hath  the  whole  power  of  Christ.^''  So  he  says  (Vol. 
iii.  p.  31),  "  We  deny  plainly  that  they  [Church  acts]  are,  or  can  be  rightly  and  orderly  done, 
but  with  the  people's  privity  and  consent."  So  he  says  (Vol  ii.  p  191),  that  "by  'two  or 
three '  having  this  power  ['binding  and  loosing ']  cannot  be  meant  two  or  three  mini.'^ters,  con- 
ridered  severally  from  the  body  (which  alone  are  not  the  Church  for  any  public  administration, 
but  the  officers  of  the  Church),  but  by  '  two  or  three '  are  meant  the  meanest  communion  or 
BOciety  of  saints,  whether  with  officers  or  without  officers."  So  he  sums  up  one  part  of  his 
argument  against  Bernard  (Vol.  ii.  p  448)  thus  :  "  The  people  have  power  to  censure  offend- 
ers :  for  they  that  have  power  to  elect,  appoint,  and  set  up  officers,  they  have  also  power,  upon 
just  occasion,  to  r^ect,  depose,  and  put  them  down,"  etc 

On  the  other  hand,  when  pressed  with  objections  against  the  Democracy  of  this  system,  we 
find  him  retreating  to  the  theory  of  the  Eldership  as  a  retort.  Thus  he  replies  to  Bernard, 
when  expressly  charged  by  him  with  putting  the  "  power  of  Christ  "  into  "  the  body  of  the 
congregation,  the  multitude  called  the  Church  "  ( Works,  Vol.  ii.  p.  7),  "  on  the  contrary  we 
profess  the  bishops,  or  elders,  to  be  the  only  ordinary  governers  in  the  Church,"  etc  And  in  his 
'■'■Just  and  necessary  Apology,^''  he  says,  ( Works,  Vol.  iii.  p  42,  43),  "  but  now  lest  any  should 
take  occasion,  either  by  the  things  here  spoken  by  us,  or  elsewhere  of  us,  to  conceive,  that  we  either 
exercise  amongst  ourselves,  or  would  thrust  upon  others,  any  popular  or  democratical  Church 
government ;  may  it  please  the  Christian  reader  to  make  estimate  of  both  our  judgment  and 
practice  in  this  point,  according  to  the  three  declarations  following."  He  then  goes  on  —  with 
other  statements  — to  suggest  what  was  doubtless  the  method  in  which  his  own  mind  harmon- 
ized the  two  conflicting  positions  which  he  held,  namely  :  "  it  appertains  to  the  people  freely  to 
vote  in  elections  and  judgments  of  the  Church.  In  respect  of  the  other,  we  make  aocount  it 
behoves  the  Elders  to  govern  the  people,  even  in  their  voting.^'  "  Let  the  Elders  pubUcly  pro- 
pound, and  order  all  things  in  the  Church,  and  so  give  their  sentence  on  them  ;  let  them  reprove 
them  that  sin,  convince  the  gainsayers,  comfort  the  repentant,  and  so  administer  all  things  ac- 
cording to  the  prescript  of  God's  word  :  let  the  people  of  faith  give  their  assent  to  their  Elders' 
holy  and  lawful  administration  :  that  so  the  ecclesiastical  elections  and  censures  may  be  ratified^ 
and  put  into  solemn  execution  by  the  Elders,  either  in  the  ordination  of  officers  after  election, 
or  excommunication  of  offenders  after  obstinacy  in  sin." 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  127 

concerning  it  in  the  Church  at  Amsterdam,  under  the  charge  of 
Francis  Johnson  and  Henry  Ainsworth,  as  Pastor  and  Teacher.  The 
former,  with  a  portion  of  the  Church,  desired  to  restrict  Church 
power  to  the  Elders  and  officers  ;  the  latter  to  lodge  it  in  the  entire 
membership.  Robinson  consistently  proposed,  as  a  plan  of  setthng 
the  difficulty,  that  all  the  business  of  the  Church  should  first  be  con- 
sidered and  resolved  on  by  the  Presbytery  privately,  and  then  sub- 
mitted to  the  membership  for  confirmation  only ;  but  the  proposition 
was  not  accepted,  and  the  Church  was  divided  into  two,  upon  the 
issue.^ 

It  looks  very  much  as  if  Robinson  and  his  Church,  while  yet  in 
Leyden,  were  tacitly  distrustful  of  the  practical  effisct  upon  their  fun- 
damental principle  of  the  power  of  the  people  under  Christ,  of  that 
theory  of  five  distinct  offices  which  they  yet  nominally  held  to  be 
the  demand  of  Scripture  for  every  Church ;  for  Gov.  Bradford  tells 
us  that,  although  they  had  sometimes  near  three  hundred  communi- 
cants, nor  were  "  at  all  inferior  in  able  men,"  they  had  "  not  so  many 
officers  as  the  other"  [Church  at  Amsterdam],  and  mentions  only  the 
Pastor,  one  Ruling  Elder,  and  three  Deacons,  as  serving  them  in 
Leyden; 2  while  Elder  Brewster's  place  was  never  filled  there,  so 
that,  for  the  last  five  years  of  Robinson's  life,  his  Church  was  officered 
only  by  Pastor  and  Deacons,^  although,  by  the  express  agreement  of 
parting,  those  who  staid,  and  those  who  went,  were  each  to  be  "  an 
absolute  Church  of  themselves."^  However  this  may  have  been, 
that  terrible  *  democracy '  —  which  was  such  a  bugbear  in  England, 


1  See  Robinson's  Works,  Vol.  iii.  p.  464,  etc. 

The  objection  to  such  an  arrangement  —  by  which  the  Elders  were  to  tell  the  people  what  to 
vote,  and  then  the  people  were  to  vote  accordingly  —  that  it  degraded  the  action  of  the  body 
of  the  Church  to  a  mere  farce,  and  really  left  them  in  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery,  as  fully  as 
Presbyterianism  itself,  does  not  appear  to  have  occurred  to  Robinson;  —  who  seems  to  have 
been  mainly  solicitous  to  reconcile  his  misinterpretation  of  1  Tim.  v :  17,  etc.,  with  those  texts 
which  deposite  all  power  in  the  membership  ;  and  who,  not  seeing  that  the  inevitable  drift  of 
his  opinions,  on  the  whole,  was  toward  democracy  in  Church  and  State,  was  not  disposed  to  sub- 
mit them  to  the  popular  odium  then  associated  with  sentiments  of  that  description. 

2  "D/aZog-we  between  Young  Men  and  Ancient  Men,^'  etc.,  in  Young's  Chronicles  of  Fly- 
mouth,  p.  456. 

3  Roger  White  writes  to  Gov.  Bradford,  giving  the  sad  information  of  Robinson's  death,  and 
describes  the  condition  of  the  bereaved  Church  as  "  wanting  him  and  all  Church  governers, 
not  having  one  at  present  that  is  a  governing  officer  [i.  c,  a  Preaching,  Teaching,  or  Ruling 
Elder]  amongst  us."— See  Letter,  in  Young's  Chronicles  of  Plymouth,  p.  479. 

4  See  Young's  Chronicles  of  Plymouth^  p.  77;  also  Gov.  Bradford's  Plimouth  Plantation^ 
p.  42. 


128  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

and  which,  only  after  the  long  process  of  years,  by  its  seen  and  felt 
safety  and  benefit,  conquered  the  prejudices  of  the  aristocratic  *  gentle- 
men' of  Massachusetts — was  a  legitimate  outgrowth  of  the  Leyden 
teachings,  and  became  a  practical  necessity  in  the  state  in  that  condi- 
tion of  affaii's  in  which  the  Plymouth  Colonists  vacated  the  Mayflower. 
The  facts  that,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  Robinson  did  not  accompany 
his  Church  on  its  emigration,  and  that  they  failed  of  obtaining  Mr. 
Crabe,^  v/hile,  by  their  hope  of  Robinson's  following,  they  were  long 
kept  from  choosing  another  Pastor,  and  so  continued  under  Ruling 
Elder  Brewster,  (who  was  practically  their  Pastor,  although  he  did 
not  administer  the  Sacraments^)  enabled  the  Plymouth  Church  lo-tiy 
thoroughly  the  experiment  of  a  more  popular  government  than  their 
creed  would  have  favored;  and  doubtless  had  its  influence  in  hight- 
ening  their  faith  in  the  practical  value  of  the  democratic  principle  in 
the  Church,  as  well  as  in  the  state.  Certain  it  is  that  the  tap  root 
both  of  American  Congregationalism,  and  of  American  Democratic 
Republicanism,  runs  its  deepest  and  vitalest  fibers  back  into  the  doc- 
trines of  Robinson,  as  Providentially  developed  and  self-harmonized 
in  the  practice  of  the  Plymouth  company.^  Their  study  was  rather 
of  the  Acts  than  of  the  Epistles;  their  main  endeavor,  to  reproduce 
exactly  the  Apostolic  pattern*— :-w_here  they  found  more  of ,lhe 
democracy  of  tire  action  of  the  whole  Church,  than  they  did  of  the 

1  See  Robert  Cushman's  Letter,  in  Gov.  Bradford's  Plimouth  Plantation,  p.  58. 

2  "  Now  touching  ye  question  propounded  by  you,  I  judg  it  not  lawfull  for  you,  being  a 
Ruling  Elder,  as  (Rom.  xii:  7,  8,  &  1  Tim.  v.  17)  opposed  to  the  Elders  that  teach  &  exhorte 
and  labore  in  ye  word  and  doctrine,  to  which  ye  sacraments  are  anexed,  to  administer  them  ; 
nor  convenient  if  it  were  lawfull."— iioftinson's  '■'■Letter  to  Elder  Brewster,''''  A.  D.  1623,  in  Brad- 
ford's '■'•Plimouth  Plantation,''''  p.  166. 

3  "Many  philosophers  have  since  appeared,  who  have,  in  labored  treatises,  endeavored  to 
prove  the  doctrine,  that  the  rights  of  men  are  unalienable,  and  nations  have  bled  to  defend  and 
enforce  them,  yet  in  this  dark  age,  the  age  of  despotism  and  superstition,  when  no  tongue 
dared  to  assert,  and  no  pen  to  write  this  bold  and  novel  doctrine  —  which  was  then  as  much  at 
defiance  with  common  opinion  as  with  actual  power,  (of  which  the  monarch  was  then  held  to  be  the 
sole  fountain,  and  the  theory  was  universal,  that  all  popular  rights  were  granted  by  the  crown) 
—  in  this  remote  wilderness,  amongst  a  small  and  unknown  band  of  wandering  outcasts,  the  prin- 
ciple that  the  will  of  the  majority  of  the  people  shall  govern  was  first  conceived,  and  was  first 
practically  exemplified.  The  Pilgrims,  from  their  notions  of  primitive  Christianity,  the  force 
of  circumstances,  and  that  pure  moral  feeling  which  is  the  offspring  of  true  religion,  discovered 
a  truth  in  the  science  of  government  which  had  been  concealed  for  ages.  On  the  bleak  shore 
of  a  barren  wilderness,  in  the  midst  of  desolation,  with  the  blasts  of  winter  howhng  around 
them,  and  surrounded  with  dangers  in  their  most  awful  and  appalling  forms,  the  Pilgrims  of 
Leyden  laid  the  foundation  of  American  liberty."— 5ay/iVs'  "  Old  Colony.''^  Vol.  i.  p.  29. 

4  See  an  eloquent  argument  in  Edward  Winslow's  Brief  Narration,  in  Young's  Plymouth 
Oironides.  pp.  386-408. 


UKI^EESITYJ 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.       ^^^Siil??* 

aristocracy  of  ruling  by  an  Eldership.  So  that  gradually,  yet  inevi- 
tably, they  seem  to  have  drifted  on  the  stream  of  Providence  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  practical  remedy  for  all  perplexity  growing  out  of 
needless  Church  offices,  was  to  let  them  quietly  die  out  of  usage. 

It  is  well  known  that  —  through  the  "  indefatigable  and  ubiquitous 
Dr.  Fuller"^  —  the  Plymouth  Colony  had  great  influence  over  the 
Church  foundations  which  were  afterwards  laid  in  the  Massachusetts 
Colony,  nor  is  it  matter  of  doubt  that  that  influence  was  not  of  a 
character  to  weaken  the  efifect  of  the  democratic  principle  upon  the 
general  mind.     It  was  only  after  many  years,^  and  many  struggles,^ 

1  See  Young's  Plymouth  Chronicles,  p.  223  ;  also  Clark's  Congregational  Churches  of  Massa- 
chusetts^ pp.  7-9. 

2  In  1636,  John  Cotton  wrote  to  Lord  Say  and  Seal,  in  reply  to  his  (and  Lord  Brooke's)  pro- 
posals of  conditions  on  which  they,  and  other  "persons  of  quality  "  might  be  induced  to  favor 
New  England  with  their  presence:  "Democracy,  I  do  not  conceyve  that  ever  God  did  ordeyne 
as  a  fitt  government  eyther  for  Church  or  Commonwealth.  If  the  people  be  governors,  who 
shall  be  governed  ?  "  [Hutchinson,  Vol.  i.  p.  497.]  So  we  find  Thomas  Shepard  of  Cambridge, 
in  1652  (in  his  Wholesome  Caveat/or  a  time  of  Liberty),  using  the  following  language  :  "  though 
the  estate  of  the  Church  be  democratical  and  popular,  and  hence  no  public  administrations  or 
ordinances  are  to  be  administered  publicly,  without  notice  and  consent  of  the  Church,  yet  the 
government  of  it  under  Christ  the  Mediator  and  Monarch  of  his  Church,  it  is  aristocratical, 
and  by  some  chief,  gifted  by  Christ,  chosen  by  the  people  to  rule  them  in  the  name  of  Christ, 
who  are  unable  and  unfit  to  be  all  rulers  themselves  ;  and  to  cast  off  these,  or  not  to  be  ruled 
by  these,  is  to  cast  off  Christ,"  etc.— Works.  (Ed.  18.53.)  Vol.  iii.  p.  332.  And  so  late  as  1702, 
we  find  Cotton  Mather,  while  acknowledging  that  "partly  through  a  prejudice  against  the 
office  [of  Ruhng  Elder],  and  partly  —  indeed  chiefly  —  through  a  penury  of  men  well  qualified 
for  the  discharge  of  it,  as  it  has  been  heretofore  understood  and  applied,  our  churches  are  now 
generally  destitute  of  such  helps  in  government,"  pleading  that  the  Elders  (i.  e.,  the  Presbytery 
of  Teaching  and  Ruling  Elders  in  each  Church),  should  "  have  a  negative  on  the  votes  of  the 
brethren;  "  on  the  ground  that,  "  to  take  away  the  negative  of  the  Elders,  or  the  necessity  of 
their  consent  unto  such  acts,"  is  to  "  take  away  all  government  whatsoever,  and  it  is  to  turn 
the  whole  '  regimen  of  the  Church '  into  a  pure  '  democracy ! '  '^—Magnalia,  Vol.  ii.  pp.  239, 249. 

3  Some  of  the  shifts  which  were  adopted  in  order  to  save  the  power  of  the  Eldership  on  the 
one  side,  and  of  the  membership  on  the  other,  seem  now  truly  laughable  ;  though  grave  mat- 
ters enough  at  the  time.  In  1633-7,  several  Puritan  clergymen  in  Old  England,  sent  over 
thirty-two  questions  in  regard  to  the  facts  of  Church  matters  here,  to  which  answer  was  re- 
quested. The  tenor  of  the  questions  would  indicate  a  feeling  of  distrust  in  England  lest  the  Col- 
onists here  were  getting  on  too  fast  in  freedom,  and  one  of  them  (Ques.  17)  asks,  in  so  many 
words,  "  whether,  in  voting,  doe  the  major  part  alwayes,  or  at  any  time,  carry  ecclesiasticall 
matters  with  you,''"'  etc.  To  this  it  was  duly  replied,  for  substance,  that  if  the  "Elders  and 
major  part  of  the  Church  "  agree,  all  is  well.  If  dissent  is  made,  the  brothers  dissenting  are 
patiently  heard,  and  if  they  dissent  on  good  grounds  [the  "  Elders  and  major  part  of  the 
Church  "  of  course  being  the  judges],  the  "whole  Church  wiU  readily  yield."  If  not,  the  dis- 
sentients are  "  admonished,"  —  and  so  "  standing  under  censure  their  vote  is  nullified."  After 
further  detail,  the  answer  naively  concludes  :  "  these  courses,  with  God's  presence  and  blessing 
(which  usually  accompany  his  ordinance),  faithfully  taken  and  followed,  will  prevail  either  to 
settle  one  unanimous  consent  in  the  thing,  or,  at  least,  to  preserve  peace  in  the  Church  by  ttie 
dissenters'  submission  to  the  judgment  of  the  major  part."— See 'EeWa  Eccl.  Hist,  of  New  Eng- 
land. Vol.  i.  pp.  278-282,  and  pp.  380-386. 

9 


130  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

however,  that  the  fundamental  tenets  of  the  Congregational  churches 
were  harmonized  with  themselves,  and  put  into  a  position  of  logical 
repose,  by  the  straight-forward  recognition  of  the  Supreme  power  — 
under  Christ  —  of  the  membership  of  each  Church  over  its  own 
affairs.  The  Elders  (at  least,  the  Teaching  Elders)  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Colony  —  who  had  mostly  left  England  as  Nonconformists, 
and  not  as  Separatists,  and  whose  ideas  of  hierarchal  and  priestly 
power,  were  by  no  means  yet  clarified  —  were  a  long  time  in  becom- 
ing convinced  that  matters  Ecclesiastical  could  be  trusted  to  go  right 
without  some  absolute  control,  as  well  as  guidance,  from  themselves. 
Synod  after  Synod  was  held  for  the  settlement  of  doctrine  and  prac- 
tice,^ and  it  was  long  before  the  veto  power,  or,  as  they  phrased  it, 
*  the  negative  of  the  Elders,^  was  relinquished,  and  rest  gained  in  the 
conviction  that  it  is  safe  to  trust  the  membership  of  a  Clmrch,  under 
Christ,  to  manage  all  its  affairs  with  nothing  more  than  the  leading 
and  instruction  of  those  officers  which  it  has  chosen  for  that  purpose. 
John  Wise  —  writing  in  1717  —  is,  so  far  as  we  know,  the  first  of  the 
New  England  Theologians,  who  was  not  afraid  to  state,  and  demon- 
strate, the  proposition  that  "  Democracy  is  Christ's  government,  in 
Church  and  State."  ^  And  his  vigorous  "  Vindication  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  New  England  churches,"  not  only  had  immense  influence 
in  removing  all  obstacles  out  of  the  way  of  a  consistent  holding  of 
their  own  principles  by  Congregationalists,  but  also  in  preparing  the 
country  for  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  But  even  he  was  not  yet 
clear  on  the  subject  of  Ruling  Elders.^ 

In  the  long  run,  the  strongest  Scriptural  truths  in  a  mixed  and 
partially  discordant  creed  may  be  relied  on  to  work  themselves  clear, 
and  control  the  whole ;  and  so,  in  the  end,  it  came  to  pass  that  the 
democratic  principle  strengthened  its  power  over  the  Puritan  doctrine 
until  it  sloughed  off  the  excrescence  of  the  Ruling  Eldership,  even  in 
name,  and  placed  the  system  upon  a  self-complete  and  simple  basis, 
which,  in  subsequent  working,  has  proved  itself  to  be  in  no  respect 


1  Gov.  Winthrop  gives  account  of  three,  held  respectively  in  1637, 1643,  and  1647.  Vol.  i. 
p.  237 ;  Vol.  ii.  pp.  136,  264,  269,  308,  330.  Savage's  Winthrop.  Ed.  1853.  Others  were  subse- 
quently convened.  In  reference  to  the  theory  of  Synods  held  by  our  fathers  in  Massachusetts, 
Bee  the  Cambridge  Platform,  Chap,  xvi.,  and  Mather's  Magnolia^  Vol.  ii,  p.  248,  etc. ;  also, 
Hooker's  '■'■Survey  of  the  Summe,'^  etc.   Part.  iii.  pp.  1-59. 

a  See  Bancroft,  Vol.  ii.  p.  429. 

8  See  Churches^  Quarrel  Espoused.    Pet.  iv. 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  131 

liable  to  the  fears  which  were  expressed  with  regard  to  it,  by  those 
who  still  fondly  clung  to  the  old  encumbrance.^ 

The  custom  of  choosing  Ruling  Elders  hardly  became,  at  first,  a 
universal  one  in  the  churches  of  New  England,^  while,  in  fifty  years 
from  the  settlement  of  the  country,  it  had  gone  into  comparative 
disuse ;  ^  and  has  long  since  disappeared  altogether,^  leaving  a  record 
behind  it  which  well  illustrates  the  acute  remark  made  of  it  by  one  of 
the  leading  civilians  of  1760,  that  "the  multiplying  unnecessary  and 
mere  nominal  officers,  or  officers  whose  duties  and  privileges  are  not 
with  certainty  agreed  upon  and  determined,  seems  rather  to  have  a  nat- 
ural tendency  to  discord  and  contention,  than  to  harmony  and  peace."  ^ 

In  brief,  then,  it  may  be  said  of  the  Ruling  Eldership  of  our  Pil- 
erim  Fathers,  that  it  was  an  illogical  and  unscriptural, — and  therefore 

1  Joshua  Scottow  (A.  D.  1691)  published  a  most  moving  appeal,  under  the  title  of  "  Old  MerCs 
Tears  for  their  own  Declensions,  mixed  with  Fears  of  their  and  their  Posterities''  further  falling 
off  from  New  EnglanWs  Primitive  Constitution,''^  in  which,  after  mournfully  inquiring  "  where 
are  the  Ruling  Elders,  who  as  porters  were  wont  to  inspect  our  Sanctuary  gates,  and  to  take  a 
turn  upon  the  walls  ?  "  etc.,  he  adds,  "  it  is  questioned  by  some  among  us,  whether  such  an  oflB- 
cer  he  jure  divino,  or  any  rule  for  them  in  God's  word,  which  occasions  a  Reverend  Elder  to  take 
up  the  argument  against  such,  and  bewails  the  neglect  of  them  in  the  churches,  as  a  sad  omen 
of  their  turning  po]/ular  or  prelatical,  and  if  so,  then  to  be  regulated  either  by  Lord  Brethren, 
or  Lord  Bishops.  Is  not  this  a  great  derogation  from  Christ's  authority  to  say,  that  deacons 
may  serve  the  churches'  turn,  who  may  oflaciate  to  do  these  Elders'  work  ?  Is  it  not  a  prefer- 
ence of  men's  politics  before  Christ's  institutes  ?  Did  not  the  practice  of  men's  prudentials 
prove  the  ruin  of  the  churches  and  rise  of  Antichrist?  "—  See  Savage's  Winthrop,  Vol.  i.  p  38. 

2  See  Clark's  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Congregational  Churches  in  Massachusetts,  p.  93. 
8  See  Hutchinson,  Vol.  i.  p.  426  ;  Savage's  Winthrop,  Vol.  i.  p.  37. 

4  Elder  Brewster  was  the  only  Ruhng  Elder  in  the  Plymouth  Colony  (as  well  as  Church),  dur- 
ing the  first  twenty-nine  years  of  its  existence  ;  Mr.  Thomas  Cushman,  the  first  chosen  by 
them  in  this  country,  having  been  elected  in  1649  —  five  years  after  Brewster's  decease.  Elder 
Cushman  served  the  Church  until  his  much  lamented  death,  in  1691.  In  1699,  the  Church 
filled  the  vacancy  by  the  election  of  Dea.  Thomas  Faunce,  who  officiated  until  his  death,  at  the 
age  of  99,  in  1746 ;  and  was  the  last  who  sustained  the  office  in  Plymouth.  (See  Steele's  ''  Chief 
of  the  Pilgrims,''''  p.  398,  and  Thacher's  History  of  Plymouth,  pp.  270-286.)  The  name  of  but 
one  Ruling  Fider  appears  upon  the  records  of  the  Old  South  Church  in  Boston,  though  it  is 
supposed  others  were  chosen,  without  record  (See  Wisner's  History  of  the  Old  South  Church, 
p.  79.)  The  present  meeting  house  (built  A.  D.  1730),  originally  contained  an  elevated  "Elder's 
Seat,"  above  the  "  Deacon's  Seat,"  and  below  the  pulpit.  The  last  record  on  the  books  of  the 
First  Church  in  Boston,  of  the  election  of  a  Ruling  Elder  is  believed  to  be  of  date  August  3, 
1701.  An  effort  was  made  in  the  New  Brick  Church,  in  1735,  to  reintroduce  this  "obsolete  " 
office,  but,  in  Nov.  1736,  only  one  person  had  been  found  to  accept  the  office,  and  the  Church 
voted  not  to  choose  -another.  Mr.  William  Parkman  (chosen  Sept  1743,  died  1775-6)  was  the 
last  Ruling  Elder  of  the  New  North  Church.  (Appendix.  Wisner's  Old  South,  p  80  )  It  ap- 
pears from  Dr.  Felt's  History  of  Salem,  that  the  North  Chun-h  in  that  town,  in  1S26,  "  as  the 
only  continuation  of  an  ancient  custom,"  chose  Jacob  Ashton.  Ruling  Elder.  Probably  this  may 
have  been  the  last  instance  of  such  an  election  by  any  Congregational  Church  of  New  England. 
(Felt's   Sa'em.  Vol.  ii.  p  608.) 

5  Hutchinson,  Vol.  i.  p.  426. 


182  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

temporary — concession,  in  part,  to  the  too  literal  sense  of  two  or  three 
texts  which  they  were  in  a  most  unfortunate  position  rightly  to  inter- 
pret, and  in  part  to  the  spirit  of  the  age ;  that  it  never,  either  in  their 
theory  or  their  practice,  approximated  to  the  Presbyterian  idea  of  the 
Ruling  Eldership  ;  and  that  its  entire  disuse  —  throwing  its  old  func- 
tions partly  upon  the  Pastor,  partly  upon  the  Deacons,  partly  upon 
the  "  Examining  Committee  "  ^  (where  one  exists),  and  partly  upon 
the  membership  at  large  —  is  a  thing  which  causes  the  denomination 
no  regret,  except  that  it  had  not  earlier  entered  as  a  tranquilizing  ele- 
ment into  some  of  the  anxieties  of  the  Fathers. 

3.  The  second  class  of  permanent  officers  set  hy  Christ  in  his 
Churches — for  the  care  of  their  temporal  concerns  —  are  called 
Deacons.  This  is  made  sure  by  the  record  of  the  appointment  of  the 
"  seven,"  in  the  Acts ;  by  the  records  and  precepts  of  the  Epistles ; 
and  by  the  testimony  of  early  history. 

(1.)  Let  us  examine  the  record  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.^ 
Reference  has  been  already  made  to  this.^  The  simple  facts  were 
that  —  in  consequence  of  *  murmuring  *  from  the  foreign,  or  Greek- 
speaking  portion  of  the  Church,  as  if  they  had  not  received  their 
equitable  share  of  the  daily  distribution  of  food,  etc.,  *  as  every  man 
had  need'* — the  Apostles  —  'at  whose  feet'  (^.  e,  in  whose  sole  con- 
trol) the  whole  matter  had  been  previously  '  laid '  —  called  the  whole 

1  We  have  been  sorry  to  see  occasional  suggestions  to  tlie  effect  that  it  might  be  well  for 
our  denomination  to  revive  this  office,  or  to  use  the  name  as  a  designation  for  the  "  examining 
committee  "  —  it  being  assumed  that  there  would  be  a  fitness  in  such  an  application.  It  is  true 
that  that  committee  usually  performs  a  part  of  the  service  which  used  to  be  done  by  the  Rul- 
ing Elders  —  in  paving  the  way  for  the  admission  of  new  members  to  the  Church,  etc.  But 
this  was  not  that  function  of  the  RuUng  Elders  from  which  they  were  named.  That  was  such 
an  approach  to  a  real  control  over  the  Church  —  doing  its  work,  and  then  permitting  it  to 
assent  to,  and  confirm  their  acts  — as  is  totally  at  variance  with  the  true  principles  of  Congrega- 
tionalism Mr.  Eddy  —  a  late  eminent  lawyer  of  the  Old  Colony,  of  wide  renown  in  our  churches 
—  says  in  the  "Book"  of  the  Church  in  Middleborough,  to  which  he  belonged,  "we  have 
never  had  any  Ruling  Elders  in  this  Church.  There  is  not  much  in  a  name.''''  [Book,  p.  29.] 
But  there  is  a  good  deal  in  a  '  name.'  if  it  will  mislead  Presbyterians  into  the  idea  — as  it  often 
has,  in  reference  to  our  early  history  —  that  we  are  either  aping  their  system,  or  approaching  it. 
There  is  no  possible  resemblance  between  our  "  examining  committees,"  (renewed  every  year, 
and  simply  preparing  business  for  the  Church's  vote  —  often  without  even  recommending 
action,  yea  or  nay,  upon  the  propositions  which  they  make),  and  a  Presbyterian  Session 
chosen  for  life,  and  ultimating  the  business  of  the  Church  —  without  its  presence,  and,  likely 
enough,  without  its  knowledge  or  consent.  We  go  for  calling  things  by  their  right  names,  and 
for  leaving  the  old  yoke  which  our  fathers  were  not  able  to  bear,  to  rot  where  they  left  it, 
afield, 
a  Acts  vi :  1-6.  »  See  page  15.  *  Chaps,  ii :  45  ;  iv :  35. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  133 

Church  together,  and  declaring  it  was  *  not  reason '  that  the  sole  care 
of  both  the  temporal  and  spiritual  exigencies  of  the  multitude  of  be- 
lievers should  longer  remain  upon  them,  desired  the  Church  to  choose 
seven  *  men  of  honest  report,'  to  whom  '  this  business '  might  be  en- 
trusted. *  The  saying  pleased  the  whole  multitude,'  and  they  chose 
Stephen,  Philip,  Prochorus,  Nicanor,  Timon,  Parmenas,  and  Nicolas, 
a  proselyte  of  Antioch ;  ^  whom  the  Apostles  then  publicly  and  sol- 
emnly '  appointed  '  to  '  serve  tables.' 

Four  things  seem  to  be  self-evident  in  this  narrative,  namely :  that 
these  seven  were  appointed  to  take  the  charge  of  the  temporalities  of 
the  Church,  and  particularly  of  the  distribution  of  its  charities  to  its 
poor  members ;  that  they  were  chosen  by  the  free  suffrage  of  the 
brotherhood ,  that  they  were  set  apart  to  their  work  by  prayer  and 
the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Apostles ;  and  —  since  every  Chris- 
tian Church  has  '  temporalities '  which  require  somebody's  care  and 
thought  —  that  here  was  intended  to  be  given  a  hint  and  pattern  for 
the  copying  of  every  such  organization  to  the  world's  end.'^  It  is  true 
that  these  seven  are  never  called  *  Deacons '  in  the  Acts,  but  only 
*  the  seven  ,  *  but  it  is  Hkely  that  this  grew  out  of  the  fact  that  the 
office  was  so  familiarly  known  as  not  to  need  special  naming,^  as  the 
Apostles  were  famiUarly  called  '  the  twelve.'  ^  Moreover,  they  are, 
for  substance,  named  '  Deacons,'  in  the  very  Greek  words  which  re- 
cord the  work  to  which  they  were  chosen  (v.  2),  which  are  diaxovliv 
TQOLTii'Qcug — diakonein  trapezais ;   which   literally  mean   to   deacon 


1  "  These  names  are  all  Greek,  but  we  cannot  thence  infer  that  the  seven  were  all  Hellenists  ; 
the  Apostles  Philip  and  Andrew  bore  Greek  names,  but  were  certainly  not  Hellenists.  .  .  The 
title  of  '  deacons  '  is  nowhere  applied  to  these  seven  in  Scripture,  nor  does  the  word  occur  in 
the  Acts  at  all.  In  1  Tim.  iii :  8,  etc.,  there  is  no  absolute  identification  of  the  duties  of  dea- 
cons with  those  allotted  to  these  seven,  but,  at  the  same  time,  nothing  to  imply  that  they  were 
different  And  dviyn'SriToi,  verse  10,  seems  to  refer  to  our  naprvpovnivovi,  verse  3.  .  .  .  The 
only  one  of  these  seven  mentioned  in  the  subsequent  history  (ch.  xxi :  8)  is  called  •i'tXiinroi 
0  EvayyeXiarns,  probably  from  the  success  granted  him  as  recorded  in  ch.  viii:  12.  In  these 
early  days  titles  sprung  out  of  realities,  and  were  not  yet  mere  hierarchichal  classifications." — 
Alfbrd.    Com.  Acts  vi :  5.   Vol.  ii.  p.  57. 

2  "  Manente  ratione,  manet  ipsa  lex."  »  Chap,  xxi .  8. 

4  "  Nor  is  it  any  objection,  that  in  Acts  xxi :  8,  they  are  merely  called  '  the  seven,''  for  as  the 
name  of  Deacon  was  then  the  usual  appellation  of  a  certain  class  of  officers  in  the  Church,  Luke 
uses  this  expression  to  distinguish  them  from  others  of  the  same  name,  just  as  '  the  twelve '  de- 
noted the  Apostles." — Neander.    Planting  and  Training,  etc  p  34,  note. 

5  See  Matt,  xxvi-  14,  20,47;  Mark  iv:10,  vi:  7;  ix:  35;  x:32;  xi:ll;  xiv:  10,17,20, 
43;  Luke  viii :1;  ix:  12;  xviii:31,  xxu:3,47;  Johnvi:  67,  71;  xx:  24;  Actsvi:2;  1  Cor. 
XV :  5 


134  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

[z.  e.  to  officiate  as  deacons  at]  tables '  —  ^icmwrn  being  the  verb  ex- 
pressing the  activity  of  the  noun  diaxovog  —  diakonos  — '  deacon.' 

It  has  been  urged  that  this  office  existed  before  this  date.  Mosheim, 
Kuinoel,  Olshausen  and  even  Whately  have  supposed  that  the  *  young 
men,'  ^  who  carried  out  the  bodies  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  were  the 
deacons  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem.  But  the  weight  of  authority  is 
against  this  theory,  and  common  sense  condemns  it. 

(2.)  The  records  and  precepts  in  the  Epistles,  afford  further  evi- 
dence of  the  fact  that  the  deaconship  is  the  second,  and  temporal,  office 
in  the  Church.  Paul,  in  writing  to  the  PhiHppians,  addresses  "  the 
saints  in  Christ  Jesus,  which  are  at  Philippi,  with  the  Bishops  and 
Deacons,"  ^  showing  that,  so  far  as  this  Church  was  concerned,  this 
office  had  existence  then  —  a.  d.  63, — probably  thirty  years  after  the 
choice  of  Stephen  and  his  fellows  at  Jerusalem. 

And,  in  addressing  Timothy,^  the  same  Apostle,  after  having  given 
at  length  the  qualifications  to  be  regarded  by  the  Churches  in  their 
choice  of  Pastors,  proceeds  to  say,  "  likewise  must  the  Deacons  be 
grave,  not  double-tongued,  not  given  to  much  wine,  not  greedy  of  filthy 
lucre ;  holding  the  mystery  of  the  faith  in  a  pure  conscience.  And 
let  these  also  first  be  proved ;  then  let  them  use  the  office  of  a  Dea- 
con, being  found  blameless,"  etc.  These  directions  clearly  imply 
Paul's  judgment  that  the  office  of  a  Deacon  was  the  second,  and — since 
he  names  no  other  besides  the  Pastor  —  the  only  office  in  the  Church 
remaining  to  be  referred  to,  while  the  nature  of  his  counsel  would  in- 
dicate his  care  to  secure  the  selection  of  such  men  as  would  be  emi- 
nently suitable  to  its  peculiar  functions.  It  is  true  that  the  specific 
duties  connected  with  this  office  in  the  6th  of  Acts,  are  not  here  re- 
counted, but,  evidently,  because  they  were  so  well  understood  that 
there  was  no  need  of  it ;  so  that  Paul  —  assuming  that  every  Chris- 
tian knew  then,  as  now,  what  are  the  duties  of  a  Deacon — proceeded 
to  speak  of  the  qualifications  which  he  needs  to  possess,  to  secure  the 
due  discharge  of  those  duties. 

(3.)    The  history  of  the  early  days  establishes  the  fact  that  the  of- 


1  See  Dayidson's  Eccles.  Pol.  of  New  Test.  (pp.  167-170),  for  a  thorough  examination  and 
refutation  of  this  theory.  See  also  Mosheim  {Comm.  de  reb.  Chr.  etc.  p.  114,  etc.)  Mack  (Com- 
mentar  uber  die  Pastoral-brief e,  p  269),  and  Kuinoel,  Meyer,  and  Olshausen  (on  Acts  t  :  6,  and 
vi :  1) ;  also  Conybeare  and  Howson  (St.  Paul,  i.  p.  466.) 

2  Phil,  i :  1.  3  1  Tun.  3  :  1-15. 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  135 

fice  of  Deacon  was,  in  primitive  times,  the  second  and  only  office  in 
the  Church,  and  had  the  care  of  its  temporal  affairs.  Neander 
says,  "  besides  these  [the  Presbyter-Bishops],  we  find  only  one  other 
Church  office  in  the  ApostoHc  age ;  that  of  Deacons.  The  duties  of 
this  office  were,  from  the  beginning,  simply  external,  as  it  was  insti- 
tuted in  the  first  place,  according  to  Acts  vi.,  to  assist  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  alms.  The  care  of  providing  for  the  poor  and  sick  of  the 
communities,  to  which  many  other  external  duties  were  afterward 
added,  devolved  particularly  on  this  office."  ^  Guericke  says,  "  the 
second  Ecclesiastical  office  in  the  single  Church,  was  that  of  Deacon 
(^/Jid>iovoi — diahonoi,  Phil  i :  1 ;  1  Tim  iii :  8, 12),  of  whom  originally 
there  were  seven.  This  office  was  at  first  established  for  the  collec- 
tion and  distribution  of  alms,  and  for  the  care  of  the  poor  and  the 
sick,"  etc.^  ScHAFF  says,  "  Deacons,  or  helpers,  appear  first  in  the 
Church  of  Jerusalem,  seven  in  number,  appointed  in  consequence  of 
a  complaint  of  the  Hellenistic  Christians  that  their  widows  were  neg- 
lected in  favor  of  the  Hebrew  Christians.  The  example  of  that 
Church  was  followed  in  all  the  other  congregations,  though  without 
particular  regard  to  the  number  seven.  The  office  of  these  deacons, 
according  to  the  narrative  in  Acts,  was,  to  attend  to  the  wants  of  the 
poor  and  the  sick.  To  this  work,  a  kind  of  pastoral  care  of  souls  very 
naturally  attached  itself;  since  poverty  and  sickness  afford  the  best 
occasions  and  the  most  urgent  demand  for  edifying  instruction  and 
consolation.  Hence  living  faith  and  exemplary  conduct  were  neces- 
sary qualifications  for  the  office  of  Deacon."  ^  Kurtz  says,  "  Con- 
joined with,  but  subordinate  to,  the  office  of  Presbyter  or  Bishop, 
of  which  the  Apostles  themselves  for  so  considerable  time  discharged 
the  duties  at  Jerusalem,  was  the  office  of  Deacon.  It  was  first  insti- 
tuted by  the  Apostles,  with  consent  of  the  people,  for  the  purpose  of 
caring  for  the  poor  and  the  sick  at  Jerusalem.  Thence  it  spread  to 
most  other  Christian  communities!,"  etc.*  Coleman  says,  "  Besides 
the  Elders,  there  was,  in  the  Apostolical  and  Primitive  ages  of  the 
Church,  only  one  other  office  —  that  of  Deacon.  The  specific  duty 
to  which  the  Deacons  were  originally  appointed,  was  to  assist  in  the 
distribution  of  alms.     The  care  of  providing  for  the  poor,  the  sick, 

1  "  General  History  of  Christian  Religion  and  Church,''^  etc    Vol.  i.  p.  188.   (Torrey's  Trans.) 
a  Shedd's  Guericke.   Vol,  i.  p.  109.  3  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  p.  134. 

4  Text  Book  of  Church  History,  p.  68 


136  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

and  of  bestowing  other  needful  attentions  upon  the  members  of  the 
community,  for  the  relief  of  those  who  were  occupied  with  the  duties 
of  the  ministry,  devolved  upon  them."  ^ 

This  office  did  not  escape  perversion  in  the  general  corruption 
which  soon  came  upon  the  churches.  When  Bishops  were  elevated 
above  pastors,  deacons  were  raised  out  of  the  ranks  of  the  laity,  and 
made  a  third  order  in  the  ministry.  As  early  as  the  time  when 
Ignatius  is  claimed  to  have  written  the  epistles  called  by  his  name, 
there  are  symptoms  of  this  change,^  and  in  the  third  century  it  became 
still  clearer.^  The  Puritans  re-discovered  and  re-introduced  the 
office  as  it  was  known  to  the  Apostles  and  the  Primitive  Church,  but 
to  this  day,  the  Hierarchal  churches  pervert  it  as  the  third  order  of 
the  clergy.* 

4.  Both  Pastors  {or  Bishops,  or  Elders,  or  Teachers),  and  Dea- 
cons, are  to  be  chosen  and  set  apart  by  the  Church,  from  its  own  mem- 
bership. Here  are  three  points,  namely:  that  the  Church  is  to 
elect;  to  ordain  —  or  otherwise  set  apart  to  office,  its  Pastor  and 
Deacons ;  and  that  that  election  should  be  from  among  its  own  mem- 
bership. 

(1.)  Every  Church  is  to  elect  its  Pastor  or  Pastors,  and  Deacons, 
That  is,  the  right  and  duty  of  such  election  is  resident  in  the  Church, 
and  not  in  any  other  power  or  body  whatsoever.  This  has  been 
already  sufficiently  dwelt  upon.^ 

(2.)  Every  Church  is  to  ordain  —  or  otherwise  set  apart  to  office 
—  its  Pastor,  or  Pastors,  and  Deacons.  To  many  minor  offices  — 
such  as  Clerk,  Treasurer,  Committees,  and  the  like  —  election,  with 
notification,  is  a  sufficient  *  setting  apart ;  *  and  this,  the  nature  of  the 
transaction  necessarily  implies,  must  be  done  by  the  Church.  The 
only  question  is  whether,  when  the  Church  has  chosen  its  Deacons, 
or  its  Pastor,  and  notified  them,  any  further  and  special  action  is 
requisite  on  the  part  of  the  Church,  or  of  any  other  party,  in  order  so 

1  Ancient  Christianity,  p.  96. 

2  "0(5  yap  ffpcjfidroiv  Kai  noroiv  eitriv  SiaKopoi,  aWa  EKKXrjaias  Beov  v-nripirai,'''' — Epist. 
ad  Trail.  Sec.  ii.  p.  93. 

3  See  Apostolic  Constitutions,  iii.  c.  19 ;  ii.  c.  57 ;  also  Justin  Martyr,  Apol.  i.  c.  67 ;  also 
Isodore,  in  c.  i.  sec.  13,  Diss,  xxi ;  Also  Cone.  Trident,  s.  xxiii.  c.  17. 

*  See  Congregational  Quarterly,  Vol.  i.  (1859.)  pp.  66-70.  6  See  pp.  40-42. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  137 

to  *set'  them  'over'  the  Body,  that  all  the  functions  of  their  offices  may 
be  rightly  administered  ?  This  question  may  be  answered  from  the 
proprieties  of  the  case,  from  the  Scripture  record,  and  from  the 
usage  of  the  past. 

(a.)  The  proprieties  of  the  case  suggest  that  induction  into,  and 
entrance  upon  the  duties  of,  offices  of  so  much  weight  and  solem- 
nity, may  suitably  be  connected  with  some  service  of  special  conse- 
cration of  the  new  incumbent  to  those  duties,  and  of  special  suppli- 
cation to  God,  —  that  he  may  have  grace  to  discharge  them  wisely 
and  well.  Such  service  —  aside  from  its  probable  relation  to  God's 
pleasure  in  the  matter  —  may  be  regarded  as  naturally  tending,  on 
the  one  hand,  to  highten  the  beginner's  conception  of  the  importance 
of  the  work  which  he  undertakes,  and  so  to  increase  his  humihty, 
prayerfulness,  and  self-consecration  ;  and,  on  the  other,  to  deepen  those 
convictions  in  the  minds  of  the  Church  which  may  lead  them  to  all 
due  submission,  respect,  and  cooperation.  So  that  a  merely  reasona- 
ble view  of  the  matter  would  prompt  some  ceremony  of  induction  into 
these  high  offices ;  and  suggest  that  since  the  Church,  under  Christ, 
is  supreme  in  the  matter,  she  should  assume  the  sole  responsibility 
of  that  ceremony.  So  far  as  the  office  of  Deacon  is  concerned,  there 
is  no  contact  between  the  appointing  Church  and  the  sisterhood,  so 
that  that  comity  and  cooperation  which  create  the  difference  between 
Congregationalism  and  Independency,  make  no  claim  that,  with  re- 
gard to  the  incumbency  of  this  office,  conference  should  be  had  with 
other  churches.  In  the  case  of  the  Pastor,  however,  the  fact  is  differ- 
ent. He  sustains  a  quasi  relation  to  all  Congregational  churches,  as 
well  as  to  that  Church  which  has  chosen  him.  He  is  to  be  recognized 
by  other  churches,  as  the  Pastor  of  his  own  Church;  and,  in  ex- 
change with  their  Pastors,  and  in  the  varied  courtesies  and  activities 
of  the  Pastoral  life,  all  neighboring  Congregational  churches  have  an 
interest  in  his  personal  ability,  discretion,  and  soundness  in  the  faith. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  prompting  of  the  cooperative  and  Congregational 
spirit,  that,  when  a  Church  has  made  choice  of  its  Pastor,  it  invite 
its  sister  churches  to  assemble,  by  their  Pastors  and  appointed  lay 
delegates,  to  review  their  action,  and  examine  the  candidate  for  their 
Pastorship,  that  so  —  being  satisfied  of  the  suitableness  of  both  — 
they  may  pronounce  the  benediction  of  the  fraternity  of  the  churches 
upon  the  union,  and  extend  the  right  hand  of  cordial  fellowship  from 


138  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

that  fraternity  to  the  new  comer.  And,  in  token  of  its  honesty  in  the 
transaction,  and  by  way  of  concentrating  upon  the  act  which  sets  its 
Pastor  in  his  place,  all  the  weight  of  character  and  piety  in  Council 
assembled,  it  is  every  way  suitable  and  fraternal  for  the  Church  to 
confide  to  these  gathered  representatives  of  the  fraternity,  its  power 
of  settins:  its  Pastor  in  office  over  itself.  And  this  is  called  ordina- 
tion  —  which  is  the  mere  formal  consummation  of  the  act  of  election, 
and  consecration  of  the  elected  officer  to  his  new  duties.  The  power 
which  sets  the  new  Pastor  over  his  Church,  is  Christ,  the  Great 
Head,  speaking  through  the  Church.  Therefore,  the  power  which 
should  formally  call  the  new  officer  to  his  work,  should  be  the  Church 
speaking  for  Christ  its  Great  Head. 

(i.)  The  New  Testament  view  of  ordination  is  very  simple,  and 
would  never  have  been  misunderstood,  but  for  the  muddling  of  its 
clear  stream  by  hierarchal  influence.  The  word  *  ordain '  —  in  the 
apparent  sense  of  a  solemn  setting  apart  to  the  functions  of  office  — 
is  found  only  twice.^  The  first  instance  is  in  the  14th  of  Acts, 
(v.  23),  where  it  is  said  of  Paul  and  Barnabas,  that  when  they  had 
*  ordained  them  Elders  in  every  Church,"  etc.,  they  commended  them 
[the  converts  of  Lystra,  and  Iconium,  and  Antioch  j  to  the  Lord,  and 
passed  on  to  Pisidia  and  Pamphilia.  The  second,  is  where  Paul  de- 
clares that  he  left  Titus  (Tit.  i:  5)  in  Crete,  "to  ordain  Elders"  in 
every  city,  etc.  Careful  examination,  however,  reveals  the  fact  that 
the  first  of  these  passages  simply  teaches  us  that  the  Apostles 
prompted,  and  secured,  the  choice  and  service  of  Elders  in  every 
Church  —  without  any  implication  of  any  ceremony  whatever  of  the 
induction  of  these  Elders  to  office ;  ^  and  that  the  second,  merely  re- 

1  other  apparent  instances  are  only  apparent.  For  example,  our  translation  makes  Paul 
gay  (1  Tim.  ii :  7),  "  I  am  ordained  a  preacher,  and  an  Apostle,"  etc.  But  the  Greek  is  trednv 
iyiy  KTipvl  Kdi  uirdoroX)?,  which  simply  means  (see  Alford,  in  loco),  "  I  was  placed  a*  a  herald 
and  Apostle,"  etc. ;  which  carries  no  such  sense  as  is  conveyed  by  the  word  "  ordination."  So 
our  translation  says  (Mark  iii :  14)  that  Christ  "  ordained  twelve,  that  they  should  be  with 
him,"  etc.  But  the  Greek  here  is  Kai  e'lroifitrev  JwJs^a,  which  suggests  nothing  more  than 
that  he  selected  out  and  appointed  twelve  to  be  Apostles,  etc.  (See  Alford,  Alexander,  and 
Owen,  in  loco.)  So,  again,  our  translation  says  that  Peter  (Acts  i :  22)  told  the  disciples  that 
one  "  must  be  ordained  "  to  be  a  witness,  with  the  eleven,  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  But 
here  the  Greek  is  ixaiJTvpa  rfis  dvaaraaeus  avrov  cvv  »'//?»/  yevladat,  etc.,  which  means  no 
more  than  that  "  one  must  be  made  (i.  e.  chosen)  to  be  a  witness,"  etc. 

2  ''  The  word  'ordain '  we  now  use  in  an  Ecclesiastical  sense,  to  denote  a  setting  apart  to  an 
offtce  by  the  imposition  of  hands.  But  it  is  evident  that  the  word  here  is  not  employed  in  that 
sense.  .  .  .  The  word  here  refers  simply  to  an  election  or  appointment  of  the  Elders." —  Barnes. 
Comment.   Acts  xiv  :  23. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  139 

peats  the  sense  of  the  first,  implying  action  on  the  part  of  Titus, 
resembling  that  of  Paul  and  Barnabas^  —  there  being  no  hint,  in 
either  ease,  of  any  thing  of  a  character  like  what  is  commonly  called 
< ordination*  in  our  time.  Naturally  enough  —  being  themselves 
Bishops  and  ordained  clergy,  in  the  High  Church  sense  —  King 
James'  translators  took  it  for  granted  that  Paul  and  Barnabas  and 
Titus  must  have  made  what  they  [the  translators]  understood  by 
ordination,  a  part  of  the  business  of  organizing  the  work  of  the  Elder- 
ship with  the  churches,  and  that  view  colored  their  rendering  ;  but, 
as  every  scholar  can  see,  there  is  no  hint  of  such  '  ordination '  in  the 
Greek.  Fairly  translated,  and  unmodified  by  any  coloring  from  sub- 
sequent unscriptural  Ecclesiastical  usage,  these  texts  would  never 
have  suggested  any  such  act  as  that  which  is  called  *  ordination,'  by 
the  common  speech  of  men. 

The  true  Scriptural  ground  of  ordination  is  found  in  other  pas- 
sages —  like  that  which  informs  us  ^  that  after  the  Holy  Ghost  had 
desired  the  '  separation '  of  Barnabas  and  Saul  to  the  ministry  unto 
the  Gentiles,  the  Church  at  Antioch,  after  fasting  and  prayer,  "  laid 
their  hands  on  them,"  and  sent  them  to  their  work ;  and  those  where 
Paul  directs  Timothy  to  '  neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  him,  which 
was  given  him  by  prophecy,  with  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the 
presbytery  ; '  ^  and  also  commands  him  '  to  lay  hands  suddenly  on  no 
man.'  *  These  texts,  taken  in  connection  with  the  general  tenor  of 
the  Bible,  warrant  the  inference  that  it  was  the  way  of  the  Apostolic 
days,  to  set  apart  Gospel  laborers  to  a  new  work,^  by  prayer  and  the 

See,  also,  Hackett,  Calvin,  Alexander,  Erasmus,  Grotius,  and  Alford,  in  loco.  Alford  sa3s, 
"  the  word  will  not  bear  Jerome's  sense  of  '  laying  on  of  hands,'  adopted  by  Roman  Catholic 
expositors.    (Vol.  ii.  p.  147)  See,  also,  pp.  15-17  of  this  boo 

1  Barnes  says  again,  on  this  text,  —  •'  the  word  '  ordain'  has  now  acquired  a  technical  signi- 
fication which  it  cannot  be  shown  that  it  has  in  the  New  Testament.  .  .  But  the  word  used 
here  does  not  necessarily  convey  this  meaning,  or  imply  that  Titus  was  to  go  through  what 
would  now  be  called  ' an  ordination  service,'"  etc.  ( Comment,  on  Titus  i :  5.)  Calvin  says  on 
this  text ;  "  He  [Paul]  does  not  give  permission  to  Titus,  that  he  alone  may  do  every  thing  in 
this  matter,  and  may  place  over  the  churches  those  whom  he  thinks  fit  to  appoint  to  be  bish- 
ops ;  but  only  bids  him  preside,  as  moderator,  at  the  elections,  which  is  quite  necessary.  This 
mode  of  expression  is  very  common.  In  the  same  manner,  a  consul,  or  regent,  or  dictator  is 
eaid  to  have  '  created  consuls,'  on  account  of  having  presided  over  the  public  assembly  in  elect- 
ing them.  Thus  also  Luke  relates  that  Paul  and  Barnabas  •  ordained  Elders  in  every  Church," 
etc.  (  Cotnment  on  Tit.  i :  5.  Calvin  Translation  Sodetifs  translation.,  p.  290.)  Conybeare  and 
Howsoii  render  the  ver.se  "  Appoint  Presbyters  in  every  city."'  (Vol.  ii  :  p.  477),  and  Alford 
translates  it  —  "  Mightest  appoint.,  city  by  city.  Elders,"  etc.   (Vol.  iii.  p.  391.) 

a  Acts  xiii ;  2,  3.  3  i  Tim.  iv  :  14.  ■*  Chap,  v :  22. 

6  We  say  to  a  new  work.    This  transaction  which  took  place  at  Antioch,  was  not  the  ordina- 


140  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Elders.  It  had  been,  from  the  early 
ages,  the  practice  to  lay  hands  on  the  head  of  one  on  whom  special 
blessing  was  invoked,  and  for  whom  specially  solemn  prayer  was  of- 
fered ;  as  Jacob  did  upon  the  sons  of  Joseph,^  as  Christ  did  upon  the 
little  children  whom  he  blessed,^  as  Peter  and  John  did  on  the  believ- 
ers in  Samaria,^  as  the  Apostles  did  upon  the  seven  deacons,^  as  Paul 
did  upon  John's  disciples  at  Ephesus,^  as  Ananias  did  upon  Paul,  at 
Damascus.®  This  was  a  well-settled  Jewish  custom,  and  being  perti- 
nent and  every  way  pleasing  and  appropriate,  it  was  naturally  adopted 
by  the  disciples.  But  it  had  no  official  intent.  It  conveyed  no  offi- 
cial grace  —  although  it  was  sometimes  connected  with  the  bestow- 
ment  of  those  charismata  which  distinguished  its  miraculous,  from 
every  succeeding  age,  of  the  Church.  It  was  not  even  necessarily 
the  symbol  of  the  consecration  of  the  subject  of  it  to  any  distinctively 
spiritual  work  at  all,  inasmuch  as  we  find  one  of  its  clearest  records 
in  connection  with  the  setting  apart  of  the  seven  deacons  to  the  dis- 
charge of  a  purely  temporal  function."^  As  Dr.  Tracy  has  well  said, 
*'  it  was  merely  a  customary  gesture,  performed  by  any  one,  on  any 
occasion,  in  praying  for  another."  ^  And  so  far  as  the  sacred  record 
informs  us,  it  was  always  done  —  when  done  at  all  in  connection  with 
the  setting  apart  of  a  Church  officer  to  his  work  —  by  "  the  Presby- 
tery," that  is,  the  assembled  Elders  of  the  churches.^  It  would  seem 
also  that,  in  this  ceremony,  they  acted  for  the  Church.  If  ordination 
is  the  mere  solemn  installation  of  a  functionary  previously  appointed, 
in  the  place  to  which  he  has  been  chosen ;  since  the  putting  in  place 
is  a  lesser  act  than  the  electing  to  the  place,  and  since  the  Church 
have  done  the  greater,  it  must  follow  that  the  power  rests  with  it  to 
do  the  less.     So  that  if  a  Church  may  elect  its  Pastor,  it  may  ordain 


tion  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  to  the  Apostleship,  nor  to  the  office  of  the  ministry  ;  for  Barnabas 
never  was  an  Apostle,  and  Saul  received  his  commission  directly  from  Christ  (Acts  ix  :  20 ;  Gal. 
i :  11-17),  and  both  had  been  preachers  of  the  Gospel  before  (Acts  ix :  27  ;  xi :  22,  23).  It  was 
the  solemn  setting  apart  of  these  men  to  a  new  and  special  work,  viz :  to  be  missionaries  to  the 
Gentiles. 

1  Gen.  xlviii :  14.  2  Matt,  xix :  13-15.  »  Acts  viii :  17. 

4  Acts  vi :  6.  6  Acts  xix  :  6.  «  Acts  ix :  17. 

7  Acts  vi :  1-6. 

8  "'Report  on  the  induction  of  Deacons,"  etc.,  in  Appendix  to  Punchard's  "  Fietc."    (Ed. 
1860.)    p.  343. 

9  Barnes  says,  "  there  is  not  a  single  instance  of  ordination  to  an  office  mentioned  in  the  New- 
Testament,  which  was  performed  by  one  man  alone.'''' — Comment.  1  Tim.  iv:  14. 


WHENCE   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  141 

liim  —  which  is  but  carrying  out  that  election  to  its  full  completion 
and  result.  And  as  there  is  nothing  in  Scripture  to  forbid  or  modify 
this  view,  so  there  is  clear  inference  for  its  support. 

There  is  no  command  that  this  practice  be  continued  in  the  churches, 
but  there  is  a  pleasant  fitness  in  it  which  will  secure  its  continuance 
to  the  world's  end.  And  —  on  the  whole  —  Milton  has  well  rendered 
the  sense  of  the  Bible  concerning  it,  where  he  says,  "  as  for  ordina- 
tion, what  is  it,  but  the  laying  on  of  hands,  an  outward  sign  or  symbol 
of  admission  ?  It  creates  nothing,  it  confers  nothing ;  it  is  the  in- 
ward calling  of  God  that  makes  a  minister,  and  his  own  painful  study 
and  diligence  that  manures  and  improves  his  ministerial  gifts."  ^ 

(c.)  The  opinions  and  usages  of  the  past  speak  to  the  same  pur- 
pose. Our  Fathers  were  clear  that  ordination  should  be  the  act  of 
the  Church.  John  Robinson  says :  "  I  was  ordained  publicly,  upon 
the  solemn  calling  of  the  Church  in  which  I  serve,  both  in  respect  of 
the  ordainers  and  ordained,"  ^  and  maintains  that  "  if  the  Church 
without  officers,  may  elect,  it  may  also  ordain  officers ;  if  it  have  the 
power  and  commission  of  Christ  for  the  one,  and  that  the  greater,  it 
hath  also  for  the  other,  which  is  the  less."^  John  Cotton  held 
not  only  that  "  the  warrant  by  which  each  particular  Church  doth 
depute  some  of  their  own  body  (though  not  Presbyters),  to  lay  their 
hands  upon  those  whom  they  have  chosen  to  be  their  Presbyters,  is 
grounded  upon  the  Power  of  the  keys  which  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
(who  received  all  fullness  of  Power  from  the  Father)  hath  given  to 
the  Church,"  ^  but  that  a  Church  which  has  no  officers  of  its  own, 
"  wants  a  warrant  to  repair  to  the  Presbytery  of  another  Church  to 
impose  hands  upon  their  elect  Elders."  ^  John  Davenport  says : 
"their  ordination  of  officers,  by  deputing  some  chosen  out  of  their 
own  body  thereunto  (in  the  want  of  officers),  is  an  act  of  the  power 
of  the  keys  residing  in  them.  For,  though  the  offices  of  Elders  in 
general,  and  the  authority  of  their  office,  as  they  are  Rulers,  is  from 
Christ  immediately  ;  yet  the  investing  of  this  or  that  elect  person 
with  this  Office  and  authority,  in  relation  to  this  or  that  Church,  by 
application  of  it  to  him  in  particular,  rather  than  to  another  —  this  is 

1  Animadversions,  etc     Prose  Works.   (Bohn's  Ed.)  Vol.  iii.  p  78. 

2  Defence  of  Synod  of  Dor t,  etc    Works.    Vol.  i.  p.  463. 

3  Bernard's  Reason's  discussed,"  etc.    Works.  Vol.  ii.  p.  445. 

4  Way  of  the  Churches,  p.  43.  5  Ibid.  p.  50. 


142  CONGREGATIONALISM:. 

by  the  Church."^  Thomas  Hooker  says:  "it  is  plain  that  ordina- 
tion presupposing  an  officer  constituted,  does  not  constitute ;  therefore 
it  is  not  an  act  of  Power,  but  of  Order ;  therefore  those  who  have 
not  the  power  of  office  may  put  it  forth ;  therefore,  though  it  be  most 
comely  that  those  of  the  same  congregation  should  exercise  it,  yet  the 
Elders  also  of  other  congregations  may  be  invited  hereunto,  and  in- 
terested in  the  exercise  of  it  in  another  Church,  where  they  have  no 
power,  and  upon  a  person  who  hath  more  power  in  the  place  than 
themselves."  ^  So  he  says,  again,  "  though  the  act  of  Ordination  be- 
long to  the  Presbytery,  yet  the^MS  et  potestas  ordinandi,^  is  conferred 
firstly  upon  the  Church  by  Christ,  and  resides  in  her.  It  is  in  them 
Instrumentaliter i'^  in  her  Originaliter.^  They  dispense  it  immedi- 
ately ;  she  by  them  mediately."  ^  Samuel  Mather  says :  "  Elders 
meeting  in  a  Council  or  Synod,  with  Brethren,  may  at  the  desire  of  a 
particular  Church,  ordain  its  officers.  But  then,  as  it  has  been  the 
judgment  of  these  [the  New  England]  churches  in  times  past,  there 
is  yet  no  good  reason  why  these  churches  should  change  their  judg- 
ment, that  the  Polders  so  convened  in  Council  or  Synod,  with  their 
Brethren  for  this  service,  have  no  power  or  jurisdiction  of  their  own, 
but  act  by  virtue  of  the  power  derived  from  the  particular  churches 
v/hich  sent  for  them ;  so  that,  in  short,  particular  churches  are  the 
jBrst  subjects  of  this  power  of  ordaining;  as  it  is  for  particular 
churches  that  Councils  or  Synods  convene,  when  they  meet  in  order 
to  ordain  officers  for  them."'  The  Cambridge  Platform  says: 
"  Ordination  we  account  nothing  else,  but  the  solemn  putting  of  a 
man  into  his  place  and  office  in  the  Church,  whereunto  he  had  right 
before,  by  election ;  being  like  the  installing  of  a  magistrate  in  the 
Commonwealth ; "  ^  and  further,  "  in  such  churches  where  there  are  no 
Elders,  imposition  of  hands  may  be  performed  by  some  of  the  breth- 
ren orderly  chosen  by  the  Church  thereunto.  For  if  the  people  may 
elect  officers,  which  is  the  greater,  and  wherein  the  substance  of  the 
office  consists,  they  may  much  more  (occasion  and  need  so  requiring) 
impose  hands  in  ordination,  which  is  less,  and  but  the  accomplishment 


1  Power  of  Congregational  Churches,  etc.  p.  104.        2  Survey,  etc.    Part  ii.  p.  59. 
8  The  Right  and  Power  of  Ordination.  *  Instrumentally. 

6  Originally.  6  Survey,  etc.     Part  ii.  p.  76. 

7  '■'■Apology  for  the  Liberties  of  the  Churches  in  New  England,^''  etc.  (Ed.  1738.)  p. 
f  Chap.  ix.  sees.  2,  4. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  143 

of  the  Other."  Cotton  Mather  says,  that  "  our  Fathers  reckoned 
not  ordination  to  be  essential  unto  the  vocation  of  a  minister,  any  more 
than  coronation  to  the  being  of  a  king ;  but  that  it  is  only  a  conse- 
quent and  convenient  adjunct  of  his  vocation ;  and  a  solemn  acknowl- 
edgement of  it,  with  an  useful  and  proper  benediction  of  him  in  it ; " 
yet  he  adds  "  setting  aside  a  few  '  plebeian  ordinations '  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world  here  among  us,  there  have  been  rarely  any  ordina- 
tions managed  in  our  churches  but  by  the  hands  of  Presbyters :  yea, 
any  ordinations  but  such,  would  be  but  matters  of  discourse  and  won- 
der."^ Increase  Mather  says,  "the  old  doctrine  of  New  England 
was,  that  if  the  Church  where  ordination  is  to  be  performed,  has  not 
Elders  of  its  own,  they  should  desire  neighbor  Elders  to  assist  in  the 
ordination  of  their  Pastor,  and  that  with  imposition  of  hands  as  well 
as  with  fasting  and  prayer."  ^ 

These  citations,  we  think,  fairly  represent  the  opinions  and  feelings 
of  our  New  England  Fathers,  while  their  practice  is  well  set  forth  by 
Cotton  Mather.^     In  the  beginning,  there  were  a  few  of  what  he 


1  Magnolia.  (Ed.  1853.)  Vol.  ii.  pp.  242,  243.    2  Order  of  the  Gospel.  (A.  D.  1700.)  p.  100. 

3  Is  ordination  for  life  ?  Yes  ;  in  the  sense  that  no  other  result  is  contemplated  by  it  than 
that  the  newly  elected  Pastor  will  remain  Pastor — he  desiring  to  do  so,  and  the  Church  desir- 
ing him  to  do  so  —  until  the  relation  be  terminated  by  death.  No  ,*  in  the  sense  that  when, 
for  any  reason,  the  good  of  the  Church,  or  the  welfare  of  the  Pastor,  require  a  separation,  it 
can,  and  should,  take  place.  Such  was  the  way  of  our  Fathers.  They  acted  like  men  of  piety 
and  common  sense,  who  were  not  afraid  to  trust  both  churches  and  Pastors  to  act  manfully, 
and  honestly,  and  in  a  kind  and  Christian  spirit,  in  whatever  exigencies  might  unexpectedly 
^rise.  The  early  Pastors  were  set  over  their  churches  in  the  hope  and  expectation  that  they 
would  live  and  die  with  them  ;  yet  changes  were  always  made  when  there  was  need  of  them. 
"  Master  Hooke"  remained  first  Pastor  of  the  Church  in  Taunton  only  seven  years,  when  at 
the  earnest  request  of  the  Church  in  New  Haven,  be  became  associated  with  John  Davenport, 
as  Teacher  of  that  Church,  in  1644-5  ;  and  Nicholas  Street,  his  colleague  and  successor  at 
Taunton,  became  also  his  successor  at  New  Haven.  John  Norton  left  the  Teachership  at  Ips- 
wich, to  become  John  Cotton's  successor  at  Boston.  Thomas  Cobbet  left  the  Church  at  Lynn, 
to  become  Roger's  successor  at  Ipswich.  John  Wheelwright  was  minister  to  the  churches  in 
Braintree,  Mass.  ;  Exeter,  N.  H. ;  Wells,  Me. ;  Hampton,  N.  H. ;  and  Salisbury,  N.  II.  John  Hig- 
ginson  was  Pastor  at  Guilford,  Conn.,  and  Salem,  Mass.  John  Davenport  left  New  Haven,  to 
become  Pastor  (in  his  seventieth  year)  of  the  1st  Church  in  Boston.  Charles  Chauncy  left  the 
Pastorship  of  the  Church  in  Scituate,  Mass. ;  among  other  reasons,  because  they  did  not  support 
him,  and  was  on  his  way  to  England,  when  he  was  chosen  second  President  of  Harvard  College. 
Samuel  Newman  was  Pastor  at  Weymouth  and  Rehoboth.  John  Woodbridge  left  Rowley  for 
England,  and  England  again  for  Newbury,  where  he  ceased  to  be  pastor  before  his  death. 
Joshua  Moody  left  Portsmouth  for  Boston,  and  Boston  again  for  Portsmouth.  Scores  of  such 
instances  might  be  enumerated,  showing  that  the  practice  of  the  first  century  of  the  churches 
in  New  England  did  not  differ  in  this  regard,  in  point  of  principle,  from  that  which  is  now  com- 
mon ;  though  less  change  took  place  as  a  matter  of  practice.  [For  a  statement  of  the  principles 
which  governed  our  Fathers  in  this  matter,  see  Mather'' s  Magnalia,  (Ed.  1853.)  Vol.  iL 
pp.  250,  251.] 


144  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

calls  *  plebeian'  ordinations,^  but  afterward  the  churches  generally 
ordained,  as  now,  their  Pastors,  through  delegation  of  their  power  to 

It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  it  has  become  common  among  the  churches  in  some  sections 
of  the  country,  to  introduce  into  the  terms  of  settlement,  a  clause  that  either  party  may  termi- 
nate the  relation  by  giving  three  or  six  months  '  notice  '  in  writing.  We  most  earnestly  object 
to  this  practice  ;  among  other  reasons,  for  the  following :  — 

1.  It  is  unscriptural.  The  tone  of  Scripture  implies  that  the  term  of  the  Pastoral  ofiBce  is  for 
life,  or  '  for  good  behavior.'    And  there  is  no  hint  of  any  opposite  principle,  or  practice. 

2.  It  is  uncongregational.  No  man  familiar  with  the  records  of  the  denomination,  will  con- 
tend that  it  is  not  a  novelty  in  point  of  practice,  and  we  do  not  see  how  any  one  who  under- 
stands the  principles  of  our  system,  can  fail  to  see  that  it  is  radically  inconsistent  with  them. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  important  principles  of  our  system  that  the  Church  and  not  the  Parish,  is 
the  body  which  ought  to  choose  or  refuse  its  Pastor,  and  yet  this  clause  puts  it  in  the  power  of 
a  bare  majority  of  another  body  —  not  one  of  whom  is  necessarily  a  Church  member  —  practi- 
cally to  terminate  the  relation  between  the  Church  and  its  Pastor.  Permanence,  coetaneous 
with  faithfulness,  is  the  fundamental  idea  on  which  Congregationalism  rests  its  difference  of 
practice  from  those  systems  which  favor  an  itinerant  ministry,  and  this  '  six  months '  novelty 
is  an  important  step  down  from  the  vantage  ground  of  Apostolic  and  Puritan  piinciples  to- 
wards those  of  Wesley. 

3.  It  is  unnecessary.  No  Parish  of  common  sense  would  wish  to  retain  its  Pastor  when  his 
sense  of  duty  constrained  him  to  go  ;  no  Pastor  of  common  sense  would  wish  to  impose  himself 
upon  his  Parish,  when  their  sense  of  duty  clearly  indicated  that  he  ought  not  to  stay.  But 
Parishes  and  Pastors  are  —  and  must  be  —  presumed  to  have  both  common  sense  and  some  de- 
gree of  Christian  principle  ;  so  that  no  extraordinary  provision  is  needed  by  either  party  for  re- 
lease, if  Providence  does  not  smile  on  the  union.  And  if  either  party  should  prove  to  be  lack- 
ing, there  are  ways  and  means  enough  which  may  legally  and  properly  be  used  to  force  a  crim- 
inally unwilling  partner  to  the  dissolution  of  the  copartnership,  without  welding  a  flaw  into 
the  very  joint  which  unites  them. 

4.  It  is  inexpedient.  It  enables  the  relation  to  be  sundered  without  the  calling  of  a  Council, 
and  so  may  deprive  the  departing  minister  of  any  such  '  papers  '  of  dismission,  as  will  justify 
him  to  be  settled  elsewhere.  It  holds  out  constant  invitation  to  sunder  the  relation  for  every 
little  breeze  of  dissatisfaction,  which  otherwise  would  at  once  blow  harmless  over ;  thus  affect- 
ing the  pastoral  relation  much  as  the  marriage  relation  would  be  affected  by  a  similar  '  sisi 
months  clause '  in  the  marriage  contract.  It  may  also  very  easily  precipitate  a  parish  upon 
legal  rocks,  which  may  involve  them  in  years  of  difficulty,  if  their  action  does  not  happen  to 
square  with  the  decisions  of  the  courts. 

5.  It  is  disgraceful  to  both  parties  entering  into  it.  It  concedes  that  neither  has  confidence 
that  the  other  can  be  trusted  to  do  right,  without  extraordinary  precautions  —  which  is  a  meth- 
od of  doing  business  well  enough  between  knaves,  but  out  of  place  between  Christian  gentlemen. 

6.  It  sends  both  parties  to  the  wrong  resort  in  case  real  difficulties  arise.  Christian  principle, 
humiliation  before  God,  and  subjection  to  his  wisdom,  are  the  means  of  extrication  from  diffi- 
culty, which  Christ  approves  for  his  Church  ;  not  the  going  down  into  the  Egypt  of  some 
shrewd  device  in  the  ordination  bargain,  for  help.  Churches  and  Pastors  ought  to  trust  in  the 
Lord  and  do  good ;  so  shall  they  dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  they  shall  be  fed  ! 

1  "  In  general,  the  ordination  of  ministers  was  by  imposition  of  the  hands  of  their  brethren 
in  the  ministry,  but  some  churches,  perhaps  to  preserve  a  more  perfect  independency,  called 
for  the  aid  of  no  ministers  of  any  other  churches,  but  ordained  their  ministers  by  the  imposi- 
tion of  the  hands  of  some  of  their  own  brethren.  The  ordination  at  Salem,  Aug.  29,  1660,  was 
performed  in  this  manner,  as  I  find  minuted  by  a  gentleman  just  arrived  from  England,  who 
was  present." — Hutchinson.   Massachusetts  Bay.   Vol.  i.  p.  424. 

Lechford  says  that  "  Master  Hooke  "  received  ordination  at  Taunton  (A.  D.  1637-8)  "  from  the 
hands  of  one  Master  Bishop,  a  schoolmaster,  and  one  Parker,  an  husbandman,  and  then  Mas- 
ter Hooke  joyned  [with  Bishop  and  Parker]  in  ordaining  Master  Streate  "  [the  Teacher  of  the 
Chxach.]— Plain  Dealing,  etc.  p.  96.   (Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  Vol.  iii.  Third  Series,) 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  145 

the  Elders  of  neighboring  churches  assembled  in  Council  for  that 
purpose.^ 

A  word  of  allusion  to  the  hierarchal  theory  of  Ordination,  may  be 
pertinent  here.  That  theory  is  that  the  Apostles,  in  virtue  of  their 
Apostleship,  ordained  the  first  Bishops  of  the  churches,  and  committed 
to  them  the  official  duty  and  right  of  ordaining  those  who  should 
come  after  them,  and  so  on  in  endless  succession  to  the  world's  end  — 
none  but  Bishops  ordained  by  Bishops  having  that  power.  This  is 
sought  to  be  established  by  the  assertion  that  the  Apostles  *  ordained ' 
the  seven  deacons,  and  consecrated  James  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  Tim- 
othy Bishop  of  Ephesus,  and  Titus  Bishop  of  Crete.  But  we  have 
seen  that  the  case  of  the  seven  Deacons  involves  no  such  inference,^ 
and  that  there  is  no  evidence  that  either  James,  Timothy,  or  Titus, 
was  ever  a  '  Bishop  *  in  any  such  sense  as  this.^  It  is  further  urged 
that  the  writings  of  the  Fathers  establish  the  fact  that  "  for  1600  years, 
all  Christian  churches  were  governed  by  Bishops,"  *  who  ordained  all 
clergy.  But  we  have  already  seen  that  for  the  first  two  centuries 
this  claim  is  false,  and  that  it  was  not  until  those  corruptions  which 
overspread  the  Church  —  and  which  begin  to  show  their  influence  in 
the  pretended  Epistles  of  Ignatius  —  had  swept  away  the  primitive 
purity  and  simplicity  of  the  faith,  that  this  claim  for  the  power  of 
the  Bishops,  becomes  true.^  Furthermore,  on  the  Episcopal  theory, 
the  world  is  now  destitute  of  a  regularly  ordained  ministry,  for 
it  is  impossible  anywhere  to  establish  a  perfect  succession  —  link 
touching  link  —  from  the  hands  of  the  Apostles.  Even  Archbishop 
Whately  says,  ''^  there  is  no  Christian  Minister  now  existing,  that 
can  trace  up,  with  complete  certainty,  his  own  ordination,  through 
perfectly  regular  steps,  to  the  times  of  the  Apostles."^  And  when  one 

Messrs.  Iligginson  and  Skelton  were  ordained  at  Salem  (A.  D.  1629),  by  "  three  or  four  of  the 
gravest  members  of  the  Church  ;  "  John  Wilson  was  so  ordained  at  Charlestown  (A.  D.  1630), 
and  Mr.  Carter,  at  Woburn  (1642).  John  Cotton,  at  Boston  (A.D.  1633),  and  Mr.  Hooker  at 
Newtown,  were  ordained  by  the  Church  in  presence  of  "neighbor  ministers,"  who  gave  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship,  —  which  Hubbard  says  was  "according  to  the  subsequent  practice  in 
New  England."  — See  Gov.  Bradford's  Letter  Book  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  Vol.  iii.  p.  67  ;  Ap- 
pendix to  Morton's  Memorial,  (Ed.  1855),  p.  419  ;  Eliot's  History,  in  3Iass.  Hist.  Coll.,  Ist 
Series,  Vol.  ix.  p.  39.  Hubbard's  History  of  New  England,  in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  2d  Series,  Vol. 
V.  p.  189. 

1  See  Cotton  Mather's  Ratio  DisnplincB,  pp.  14-42 ;  Increase  Mather's  Disquisition  concern- 
ing Ecclesiastical  Councils,  p  ix. ;  and  Palfrey's  History  of  New  England,  Vol.  ii.  p.  39. 

2  See  p.  140.  3  See  pp.  107-109.  4  Hook's  Church  Dictionary,  pp.  410,  411. 
6  See  pp.  77-110.         <»  Corruptions  of  Christianity,  (Gowan's  Ed.  1860),  p.  170. 

10 


146  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

thinks  of  the  filthy  lives  of  some  of  the  Popes,  it  seems  amazing  that 
any  Church,  or  portion  of  a  Church,  or  any  holy  man,  should  desire 
to  establish,  much  less  to  rest  his  claims  to  ministerial  character  upon, 
it.  Yet  Bishop  Brownwell,  of  Connecticut,  in  a  charge  given  some 
years  since,  to  his  clergy,  said,  "  if  a  regular  ministerial  succession  in 
the  order  of  Bishops,  be  not  conformable  to  Scripture  and  Apostolic 
usage,  Episcopacy  is  an  unjustifiable  usurpations^  ^ 

(3.)  The  Church  must  select  and  set  apart  its  officers  from  among 
its  own  number.  In  a  government  of  the  people,  the  essential  idea  of 
an  officer  is  of  one  elected  by  the  people  from  themselves,  to  do  for 
them  the  work  which  is  the  function  of  that  office.  Monarchies  and 
aristocracies  put  officers  authoritatively  over  the  people,  by  the  action 
of  a  power  without ;  but  republicanism  knows  no  such  procedure,  and 
since  a  Congregational  Church  is  the  simplest  and  purest  form  of  a 
republic,  it  can  consistently  know  no  officer  whom  it  does  not  raise 
out  of  its  own  ranks,  and  itself — under  Christ  —  invest  with  his 
official  dignity  and  power. 

This  is  so  simple,  and  follows  so  inevitably  from  the  first  principles 
of  the  Congregational  Church  Polity,  that  it  could  hardly  have  been 
questioned,  for  a  moment,  if  Presbyterian  theories  and  practices  had 
not  stolen  in  insensibly  to  modify  their  working.  We  never  heard 
of  any  Church  which  doubted  that  its  Deacons  should  be  chosen  from 
its  own  membership,  but  an  idea  obtains,  to  some  extent,  that  a  Pas- 
tor need  not  necessarily  be  a  member  of  his  own  Church  ;  nay,  that 
it  is  expedient  that  he  should  not  be !  But  any  theory  which  would 
make  it  tight  for  a  Church  to  choose  its  Pastor  from  the  membership 
of  another  Church,  would  make  it  right,  as  well,  for  it  to  choose  its 


1  See  on  this  general  subject,  an  earnest  discussion  in  Hall's  Puritans  and  their  Principles, 
(pp.  310-409)  ;  Davidson's  Ecclesiastical  Polity  of  the  New  Testament,  (pp.  218-262) ;  Br. 
Owen,  Works,  (Vol.  xiii.  p.  219);  Chauncy's  View  of  Episcopacy,  passim;  Barnes'  Inquiry 
into  the  Organization  and  Government  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  etc.,  (pp.  39-138) ;  Coleman's 
Primitive  Church,  (pp.  297-300),  etc.    • 

Also  consult  articles  on  Apostolical  Succession,  in  Princeton  Review,  Vol.  xix.  (1847),  pp.  539- 
564,  and  Eclectic  Review,  4th  Series,  Vol.  iv.  p.  547  ;  on  The  Validity  of  Congregational  Ordi- 
nation, by  Dr.  Lamson,  in  the  Christian  Examiner,  Vol.  xvii.  (1834),  pp.  177-202;  on  Ordina- 
tion, by  Dr.  J.  P.  Wilson,  in  the  Monthly  Christian  Spectator,  Vol.  i..  New  Series,  (1827),  pp. 
505-512 ;  on  Episcopacy,  by  Dr.  Bacon,  in  the  New  Englander,  Vol.  i.  (1843),  pp.  390,  545,  586, 
and  Vol.  ii.  (1844),  pp.  309,  440 ;  by  Dr.  Bushnell,  Vol.  ii.  p.  143-175;  by  Dr.  J.  P.  Thompson, 
Vol.  iii.  (1845),  pp.  140-149  ;  by  Albert  Barnes,  Vol.  iii.  (1845),  pp  333-373 ;  in  American  Bibli- 
cat  Repository,  Si  Series,  Vol.  i.  (1845),  byA.D.  Eliy,  pp.  315-359 ;  and  on  the  Primitive 
Episcopate,  in  the  Eclectic  Review,  4th  Series,  Vol.  xxil.  p.  47. 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  147 

Deacons,  or  its  clerk,  or  treasurer,  from  another  Church.  No  logir 
cal  difference  can  be  shown  between  these  offices  in  this  particular. 
Any  attempt  to  make  such  a  distinction  in  favor  of  a  Pastor,  must 
ground  itself  upon  some  theory  of  the  nature  and  tenure  of  his  office, 
which  is  uncongregational,  and  unscriptural.  If  he  is  their  guide  and 
teacher,  sent  by  Christ  through  their  calhng  and  election  and  conse- 
'  cration  of  him,  he  must  be  one  of  themselves,  or  they  have  no  such  con- 
trol over  him  as  makes  it  fit  for  them  to  order  that  he  assume  —  under 
Christ  —  pastoral  leadership  over  them.  Of  course  they  will  not  invite 
a  non-Church  member  to  be  their  spiritual  guide ;  but  if  he  must  be- 
long to  some  Church,  why  not  to  that  Church  ?  If,  when  attention  be 
first  turned  toward  him  as  a  candidate  for  the  pastoral  office  in  one 
Church,  he  be  a  member  of  another,  why  should  he  not,  when  invited  to 
become  Pastor,  on  acceptance  of  that  invitation,  remove  his  Church 
connection,  as  well  as  his  personal  presence,  to  the  inviting  Church  ? 
If  he  were  simply  a  private  Church  member,  it  would  be  his  duty  to  do 
so,  for  no  principle  is  better  settled  than  the  duty  of  Church  members 
removing  from  one  place  to  another,  within  a  reasonable  time,  to  re- 
move their  Church  relation  also  ;  but  his  private  Cliurch  membership 
always  underlies  his  official  character  and  relation.  Is  he  afraid  to 
trust  the  Church  over  which  he  is  to  be  settled,  with  the  custody  of 
his  Christian  character  ?  Does  he  intend  to  commit  acts  worthy  of 
discipline,  and  does  he  aim  to  embarrass  discipline  by  distance? 
Does  he  love  his  old  Church  better  than  that  to  which  he  now  prom- 
ises to  give  his  best  affections  and  all  his  strength  ?  Has  he  some 
vague  notion  that  if  it  should  ever  be  his  misfortune  to  be  brought  to 
trial  on  any  charge,  he  ought  to  have  such  trial  by  his  '  peers ; '  and 
so  he  will  say  '  hands  off,'  to  his  own  Church,  without  remembering 
that  they  are  quite  as  really  his  '  peers,'  as  the  membership  of  any 
other  Church  can  be ;  and  without  reflecting  that  in  his  permanent 
and  fundamental  character  of  a  private  Church  member,  he  will  be 
tried  by  his  '  peers,'  if  tried  by  them  ?  Does  he  conceive  that  be- 
cause the  Holy  Ghost  has  made  him  "  overseer  "  of  his  Church,  he 
is  therefore  raised  above  accountability  to  it ;  when  even  the  Governor 
of  a  Commonwealth,  if  he  were  to  commit  a  crime,  must  be  tried  by 
the  common  Courts  of  that  Commonwealth,  like  any  other  criminal, 
and  not  by  a  jury  of  Governors  ?  Does  he  esteem  it  the  course  like- 
liest to  ensure  that  mutual  confidence  and  entire  trust  and  love,  which 


148  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

are  '  the  bond  of  perfectness '  between  a  successful  Pastor  and  his 
Church,  by  standing  off  from  them  in  the  beginning,  as  if  he  distrusted, 
and  expected  always  to  distrust,  them  so  far  that  he  will  never  be- 
come one  with  them  to  that  degree  that  they  will  have  his  honor  and 
his  usefulness  in  their  fraternal  keeping  ? 

So  far  as  the  Scripture  bears  upon  this  question,  it  intimates  that 
^  Elders '  are  to  be  ordained  '  in   every   Church,'    not  over  it ;   and  • 
the  voice  of  our   Congregational  Fathers  is  one  and  earnest  to  the 
same  effect ;  ^  while  it  is  believed  that  the  churches  are  growing  in- 


1  John  Robinson  in  his  Appendix  to  Mr.  Perkins  Six  Principles,  says,  in  an  answer  to  the 
question  by  whom  Church  officers  are  to  have  their  "  outward  calling  ?  "  "  By  the  Church, 
whereof  they  are  members  for  the  present,  and  to  which  they  are  to  administer,"  and  he  adds 
that  if  such  an  officer  be  found  "  unfaithful  in  his  place,"  he  "  is  by  the  Church  to  be  warned 
to  take  heed  to  his  ministry  he  hath  received,  to  fulfil  it ;  which,  if  he  neglect  to  do,  by  the 
same  power  which  set  him  up,  he  is  to  be  put  down  and  deposed,  being  dealt  with  as  a  brother." 
—  Works,  Vol.  iii.  pp.  430,431. 

Thomas  Welde  {"  Pastor  of  the  Church  of  Roxborough,  in  New  England,")  says  in  his  Answer 
to  W.  R.  etc.  (London,  A.  D.  1644)  "  it  is  our  usual  and  constant  course,  as  hath  been  said,  not 
to  gather  any  Church  until  they  have  one  amongst  themselves  fit  for  a  minister,  whom  with  all 
speed  they  call  into  office,  and  account  themselves  a  lame  and  imperfect  body  till  that  be  effect- 
led."  And  to  this  he  adds  :  "  is  it  not  a  thing  most  natural  for  a  body  to  employ  its  own  mem- 
bers ?  Is  not  the  mutual  interest,  in  each  other,  the  stronger  tie  ?  Do  not  all  bodies  and 
societies  in  the  world,  the  very  same  ?  Was  ever  any  man  of  another  corporation  elected  sheriff 
or  mayor,  or  unto  any  special  office  in  London,  unless  he  were  first  seasoned  with  this  same 
salt,  of  membership  of  the  same  hody  V^— Ha nbunj.  Vol.  ii.  p.  329. 

John  Cotton  says  (  Way  vfthe  Churches,  etc.)  "  They  look  out  from  amongst  themselves  such 
persons  as  are  in  some  measure  qualified,  etc."  But  if  they  "  find  out  none  such  in  their  own 
body,  they  send  to  any  other  Church  for  fit  supply."  That  these  members  of  another  Church, 
must  transfer  their  membership  on  receiving  office,  is  made  clear,  however,  by  Cotton's  own 
example,  who  became  a  member  of  the  Church  in  Boston,  a  month  before  he  became  its 
Teacher. —  See  Way,  p.  39,  and  M'Clure's  Lfe  of  Cotton,  pp.  107-110. 

John  Davenport  says,  that  a  Church  when  formed,  "  must  look  out  from  among  themselves 
for  such  officers  as  Christ  hath  given  to  his  Church  ;  these  they  must  chuse  and  ordain,  profes- 
sing their  voluntary  submission  to  their  office  rule,  and  authority,  in  the  Lord." — Power  of 
Congregational  Churches,  etc.  p.  94. 

Thomas  Hooker  says  that  an  officer  "is  a  brother  as  well  as  any  of  the  rest,  and  therefore 
the  processe  of  our  Saviour  lieth  as  fair  against  him,  as  against  another." — Survey,  etc.  Part  i. 
p  52;  also  pp.  155,  192,  and  Part  ii.  p.  68. 

Cotton  Mather  says,  {Ratio  Discipline,  A.  D.  1726),  "  in  these  proceedings  [settling  a  minis- 
ter], there  is  a  seasonable  care  taken,  that  if  he  were  a  member  of  some  other  Church,  he  have 
his  dismission  (his  relation  declared  to  be  transferred)  unto  that  which  now  have  their  eye 
upon  him,  to  be  their  pastor  ;  that  as  near  as  may  be,  according  to  the  primitive  direction,  they 
may  chuse  from  among  themselves.-''— Ratio  Disciplince,  p.  22. 

Isaac  Chauncy  says,  [Divine  Institution  of  Congregational  Churches,  A.  D.  1697,)  "none 
can  be  an  officer  of  a  corporation,  but  he  that  is  incorporate  first  as  a  member." — Div.  Instit. 
etc.  p.  104. 

Cambridge  Platform  says,  "  in  case  an  Elder  offend  incorrigibly,  the  matter  so  requiring,  aa 
the  Church  had  power  to  call  him  to  office,  so  they  have  power  according  to  order  (the  council 
of  other  Churches,  where  it  may  be  had,  directing  thereto),  to  remove  him  from  his  office  ;  and 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  149 

creasingly  to  feel  the  importance  of  fidelity  to  the  first  principles  of 
their  Polity,  and  the  dictates  of  common  sense,  in  this  particular, 
and  many  have  made  it  one  of  their  '  standing  rules '  that  their  Pas- 
tor shall  be  a  member  of  their  own  body  —  an  example  which  we 
think  it  would  be  well  for  every  Congregational  Church  to  fbliow. 

A  word  may  pertinently  be  added  here  in  reference  to  what  have, 
of  late,  been  commonly  called  Stated  Supplies  ;  that  is,  ministers 
acting  as  pastors  for  churches,  without  assuming  the  official  relation 
of  Pastor  to  them.  It  will  be  an  obvious  inference  from  the  princi- 
ples before  laid  down,  that  Congregationalism  recognizes  no  such 
Church  officers  as  a  part  of  the  regular  force  of  her  laborers.  A 
'  Stated  Supply '  is  not  a  Deacon ;  equally  he  is  not  a  Pastor  —  be- 
cause the  Church  has  neither  chosen  nor  ordained  him  to  that  post  — 
and  since  Congregational  churches  have  no  other  officers  than  Pastors 
and  Deacons,  he  is  not  an  officer  of  the  Church  ;  and  as  a  mere  pri- 
vate member  of  some  Church  (usually  another  than  that  with  which 
he  labors)  he  has  no  authority  to  perform  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
except  ex  necessitate  —  in  the  absence  of  a  qualified  person,  or  while 
he  is  regularly  on  his  way  to  the  Pastorship. 

Congregationalism  indeed  recognizes  the  right  of  any  person  whom 
God  seems  to  have  called  to  the  ministry  —  by  gifts,  graces,  and  op- 
portunities—  and  whom  any  Church  of  Christ  may  elect  as  its 
Teacher,  to  preach  and  teach  ;  though  —  to  avoid  frequent  mistakes, 
and  imposition,  and  the  precipitant  running  of  over-fast  men  whom 


being  now  but  a  member  [of  course,  then,  it  is  implied  that  in  every  case  a  Pastor  wiill  have  be- 
come a  member  of  his  own  Church]  in  case  he  add  contumacy  to  his  sin,  the  Church  that  had 
power  to  receive  him  into  their  fellowship,  hath  also  the  same  power  to  cast  him  out,  that  they 
have  concerning  any  other  member." — Platform,  Chap.  x.  sec.  6. 

Prof.  Upham  (in  his  Ratio  DisciplincB),  argues  this  point,  (1.)  because  private  Church  mem- 
bers ought  to  remove  their  relation  to  that  Church  with  which  they  worship,  and  so,  for  exam- 
ple's sake,  should  the  Pastor  ;  (2.)  because  he  meets  and  acts  with  the  Church,  which  ought  not 
to  be  done,  merely  as  ex  officio  ;  (3.)  because  his  refusal  to  become  a  member  of  his  own  Church 
will  tend  to  generate  feelings  of  distrust  and  alienation ;  and  (4.)  because  ministers,  as  well  as 
private  Christians,  need  the  benefit  of  Church  watch  and  discipline. — Upham's  Rat,  Bis.  pp. 
127-130;  alsop  170. 

Dr.  Dwight  held  that  "  a  minister  is  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Christ  at  large,  but  is  never, 
in  the  proper  sense,  a  member  of  a  particular  Church,"  (Sermon  clvii.)  but  his  head  was  be- 
fogged with  Consociationism,  and  he  seems  to  have  regretted  that  we  were  not  all  Presbyte- 
rians, at  least  in  our  Church  Judicatories.  (See  Sermon  clxii.)  The  same  remarks  will  meas- 
urably apply  to  Dr.  Woods.  (See  his  Works,  Vol.  iii.  pp.  572-583.J 


150  CONGREGATIONALISM.  ' 

the  Lord  has  not  sent,  and  to  insure  the  needful  preparatory  training 
—  the  system  favors  a  regular  *  licensure  *  of  candidates  for  the  min- 
istry, after  thorough  examination  by  some  competent  persons  (either 
a  Church  or  an  Association  of  Ministers),  the  possession  of  which 
*  licensure  *  shall  h6  recognized  as  prima  facie  evidence  that  its  pos- 
sessor is  *  called  of  God  as  was  Aaron,'  and  is  therefore,  a  suitable  per- 
son to  be  employed  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  to  be  thought  of  by  a 
Church  as  its  Pastor.  But  all  this  is  preliminary.  Such  a  preacher, 
clearly,  remains  a  lay  exhorter,  until  some  Church  has  elected  and 
ordained  him  to  be  its  Pastor.  Then  first  he  ceases  to  be  a  mere 
private  Church  member  (more  ^fted  than  his  brethren),  and  becomes 
a  *  minister  of  reconciliation,'  fully  empowered  to  perform  all  the 
labors  and  discharge  all  the  responsibilities  of  the  Pastoral  office. 

Strictly  speaking,  and  as  a  matter  of  pure  logical  deduction  from 
the  principles  of  the  case,  it  follows  that  when  such  a  Pastor  ceases 
to  hold  his  official  relation  to  the  Church  from  which  he  received  his 
elevation  to  the  ministry,  he  descends  into  the  ranks  of  the  laity  again, 
and  is  no  more  a  minister,  until  some  other  Church  shall  have  elected 
and  ordained  (or  installed  —  as  all  ordinations  of  a  man  after  his  first, 
are  usually  called)  him  as  its  Pastor ;  when  he  resumes  the  official 
rank  which  he  had  demitted,  rising  aj'ain  out  of  the  ranks  of  the 
laity,  to  the  function  of  the  ministry.  He  has  the  same  right  to 
preach  in  this  interim  that  he  had  after  his  licensure  before  his  first 
ordination,  namely :  a  temporary  right  of  courtesy  and  general  con- 
sent, until  —  finding  that  the  Great  Head  does  not  call  him  to  any 
pastorship  —  he  shall  subside  into  a  mere  layman ;  or  until  he  shall  be 
chosen  and  ordained  by  some  other  Church  as  its  Pastor,  and  become 
a  minister  again.  This,  we  say,  is  the  necessary  verdict  of  the 
principles  of  Congregationalism  in  regard  to  this  matter ;  as  it  was 
the  practice  of  the  Fathers.^     But  —  partly  through  forgetfulness  of 


1  "  They  did  not  allow  the  Priesthood  to  be  a  distinct  order,  or  to  give  a  man  an  indelible 
character ;  but,  as  the  vote  of  the  brotherhood  made  him  an  officer,  and  gave  him  authority  to 
preach  and  administer  the  sacraments  among  them,  so  the  same  power  could  discharge  him 
from  office,  and  reduce  him  to  the  state  ofaprivate  member. ^^— Account  of  the  Brownists.  Need. 
Vol.  i.  p.  150. 

John  Robinson  held  that  a  minister's  relation  to  his  own  Church  was  such  that  he  had  no 
official  character  away  from  it,  even  in  another  Church.  He  says  :  "  it  is  not  lawful  for  thee, 
reverend  brother,  to  do  the  work  of  a  Pastor  where  thou  art  no  Pastor,  lest  thou  arrogate  to 
thyself  that  honor  which  appertains  not  unto  thee.  Thou  art  called,  that  is  elected,  and  or- 
dained a  pastor  of  some  particular  Church,  and  not  of  «dl  churches.  .  .  .  We  will  illustrate  this 


i  WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  151 

these  principles ;  partly  through  the  subtle  influence  of  surrounding 
hierarchal  notions,  as  if  the  ministry  were  a  '  standing  order '  of  men 

by  a  similitude.  Any  citizen  of  Leyden  may  enjoy  certain  privileges  in  the  city  of  Delft,  bj 
virtue  of  the  politic  combination  of  the  United  Provinces,  and  cities,  under  the  Supreme  heads 
thereof,  the  States-general ;  which  he  is  bound  also  to  help  and  assist  with  all  his  power,  if 
necessity  require  ;  but  that  the  ordinary  magistrate  of  Leyden  should  presume  to  execute  his 
pubUc  office  in  the  city  of  Delft,  were  an  insolent,  and  unheard  of  usurpation.  The  very  same, 
and  not  otherwise,  is  to  be  said  of  pastors,  and  particular  churches,  in  respect  of  that  spiritual 
combination  mutual  under  their  Chief  and  sole  Lord,  Jesus  Christ."—  Works^  Vol.  iii.  p.  17. 

The  New  England  Elders  say,  in  their  answer  to  the  questions  sent  over  from  England, 
(A.  D.  1637),  "  we  have  no  such  indelible  character  imprinted  on  a  minister,  that  he  must  needs 
be  so  for  ever,  because  he  once  was  so.  His  ministry  ceasing,  the  minister  ceaseth  also." — 
Answer  11. 

Allin  and  Shepard  (A.  D.  1648)  say,  "  If  a  minister  be  [even]  unjustly  deposed,  or  forsaken,  by 
his  particular  Church,  and  he  also  withal  renounce  and  forsake  them,  so  far  as  all  office  and  re- 
lation between  them  cease  ;  then  he  is  no  longer  an  officer  or  pastor  in  any  Church  of  God,  what- 
soever you  will  call  it ;  and  the  reason  is,  because  a  minister's  office  in  the  Church  is  no  '  indel- 
ible character,'  but  consists  in  his  relation  to  the  flock.  And  if  a  minister  once  ordained,  his 
relation  ceasing,  his  office  of  a  minister,  '  steward  of  the  mysteries  of  God  '  shall  still  remain ; 
why  should  not  a  ruling  Elder  or  deacon,  remain  an  Elder  or  deacon  in  the  Church  as  well  ? 
All  are  officers  ordained  of  Christ,  alike  given  to  his  Church  ;  officers  chosen  and  ordained  by 
laying  on  of  hands  alike  ;  but  we  suppose  you  will  not  say  a  deacon,  in  such  a  case,  should  re- 
main a  deacon  in  the  '  Catholic  '  Church  ;  therefore  not  a  minister."  —  Defence  of  the  Answer., 
etc.,  by  John  Allin,  Pastor  of  Dedham,  and  Thomas  Shepard,  Pastor  of  Cambridge,  in  New 
England.    London.   1648,  4to,  in  Hanbury,  Vol.  iii.  p.  42. 

Cambridge  Platform  says,  "  Church  officers  are  officers  to  one  Church,  even  that  particular 
Church  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  them  overseers.  Insomuch  as  Elders  are  com- 
manded to  feed,  not  all  flocks,  but  that  flock  which  is  committed  to  their  faith  and  trust,  and 

dependeth  upon  them He  that  is  clearly  loosed  from  his  office  relation  unto  that  Church 

whereof  he  was  a  minister,  cannot  be  looked  at  as  an  officer,  nor  perform  any  act  of  office  in 
any  other  Church,  unless  he  be  again  orderly  called  unto  office ;  which,  when  it  shall  be,  we 
know  nothing  to  hinder,  but  imposition  of  hands  also  in  his  ordination  ought  to  be  used  towards 
him  again.  For  so  Paul  the  Apostle  received  imposition  of  hands  twice,  at  least,  from  Ana- 
nias."—Chap,  ix.  See's.  6,  7. 

This  Platform  was  agreed  upon  in  1648.  In  1679,  a  Synod  held  at  Boston  '  considered '  it, 
and  voted  that  they  "  do  unanimously  approve  of  the  said  Platform,  for  the  substance  of  it.'''' 
Cotton  Mather  explains  {Magnaliay  Vol.  ii.  pp.  2.37-247)  what  they  meant  by  the  use  of  this 
language,  and  says  that,  at  that  time,  it  was  the  general  opinion  that  "  the  pastor  of  a  neighbor- 
ins;  Church  may,  upon  the  request  of  a  destitute  Church,  occasionally  administer  the  sacra- 
ments unto  them;"  and  adds,  "I  suppose  there  are  now  few  ministers  in  the  country  but 
what  consent  unto  the  words  of  Dr.  Owen,  '  Although  we  have  no  concernment  in  the  figment 
of  an  indelible  character  accompanying  sacred  orders,  yet  we  do  not  think  the  pastoral  office  is 
such  a  thing  as  a  man  must  leave  behind  him  every  time  he  goes  from  home.'  " 

John  Cotton  did  not  baptize  his  child  '  Seaborn,'  on  the  voyage  hither,  because  he  held  that 
"a  minister  hath  no  power  to  give  the  seals  but  in  his  own  congregation."  —  Savage's  Win- 
throp,  Vol.  i.  p.  131. 

"Winthrop  says  of  Mr.  "Ward's  (of  Ipswich)  being  chosen  by  some  of  the  freemen  to  preach  the 
Election  Sermon,  "  they  had  no  great  reason  to  choose  him,  though  otherwise  very  able,  seeing 
he  had  cast  off  his  Pastor's  place  at  Ipswich,  and  was  now  no  minister,  by  the  received  determi- 
nation of  our  churches."— S&Y&ge^s  Winthrop,  Vol.  ii.  p.  42. 

"  A  Church  officer,  of  whatever  degree,  was  an  officer  only  in  his  own  congregation.  The 
primitive  doctrine  of  New  England  was,  that  no  man  was  a  clergyman  in  any  sense,  either  be- 
fore his  election  by  a  particular  Church,  or  after  his  relinquishment  of  the  special  trxist  so  con- 


152  CONGREGATIONALISM.  ^ 

invested,  by  ordination,  with  an  official  dignity  of  which  nothing  short 
of  deposition  can  divest  them ;  and  partly  through  that  natural  and 
praiseworthy  kindness  of  heart  which  leads  men  to  refrain  from 
reminding  a  man  of  any  change  in  his  position  from  a  higher  to  a 
lower  —  the  practice  of  the  denomination  has,  of  late  years,  been  to 
consider  a  man  who  is  once  a  minister  as  always  a  minister,  unless 
he  be  deposed ;  even  when  he  has  left  the  work  of  the  ministry  and 
become  permanently  engaged  in  secular  pursuits  for  his  daily  bread. 
This  has  led  the  churches  so  far  to  forget  the  only  real  ground  on 
which  a  man's  right  to  the  ministry  rests,  that  they  seem  largely 
to  have  come  to  suppose  that  right  to  be  lodged  in  the  ^  licensure  * 
of  some  Association  of  Ministers,  or  the  action  of  an  Ordaining 
Council,  rather  than  in  their  own  choice  and  consecration.  And, 
being,  perhaps,  feeble  and  doubtful  how  long  they  may  be  able  to 
maintain  the  ministry  of  the  word  among  them ;  being,  it  may  be, 
uncertain  how  great  will  be  the  success  of  that  preacher  whom 
they,  on  the  whole,  desire  to  undertake  the  work;  and  being,  not 
unlikely,  frightened  by  the  misfortune  of  some  neighboring  Church 
with  a  bad  Pastor  who  was  unwilling  to  follow  his  departed  useful- 
ness —  holding  on  to  his  legal  settlement  as  a  drowning  man  grips 
the  rope  which  he  took  overboard  with  him  in  his  fall  —  they  think  it 
may  be  a  more  excellent  way  to  '  hire  a  stated  supply '  for  the  Pul- 
pit, as  they  *  hire  a  stated  supply '  for  the  farm-yard  or  the  meadow ; 
both  preacher  and  ploughman  to  go  when  wages  are  stopped,  or 
when  they  can  ^  do  better '  elsewhere.  This  mercenary  practice  has 
—  strangely  enough  —  been  favored  by  some  ministers,  who  think  to 
make  it  convenient  to  leave  when  a  '  field  of  broader  usefulness ' 
opens  elsewhere,  and  who  esteem  it  a  convenience  to  be  hampered  by 
no  necessity  for  advice  of  Council,  as  to  staying  or  going. 

All  this  is  uncongregational,  and  unscriptural,  and  —  as  facts  abun- 
dantly are  testifying  —  evil  for  the  churches ;  and  for  the  ministry,  as 
weU.  The  New  Testament  idea  of  a  Christian  Church  is  of  a  broth- 
erhood guided  and  led  by  one  of  its  own  members,  in  whom  all  have 
so  much  confidence  and  love  as  to  entrust  him,  under  Christ,  with  the 
responsibihty  of  the  Pastoral  office;  —  one  whose  interests  will  be 

ferred ;  and  that,  even  while  in  office,  he  was  a  laj'man  to  all  the  world  except  his  own  congre- 
gation, and  had  no  right  to  exercise  any  clerical  functions  elsewhere."— Palfrey's  History  of 
New  England,  Vol.  ii.  p.  39. 


*"  WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS. 

identical  with  theirs,  and  who  will  *  dwell  among  his  o 
who  will  be  such  a  Shepherd  of  the  flock  that  the  sheep 
him  because  they  know  his  voice.  *  But  he  that  is  an  hireling  and  not 
the  Shepherd,  whose  own  the  sheep  are  not,  seeth  the  wolf  coming 
and  leaveth  the  sheep  and  fleeth ;  and  the  wolf  catcheth  them,  and 
scattereth  the  sheep.  The  hirehng  fleeth  because  he  is  an  hireling^ 
and  careth  not  for  the  'sheep.'  The  more  feeble  a  flock  may  be,  the 
more  it  needs  the  tender  care  of  a  shepherd,  who  loves  it  because  it 
is  his  own,  and  who  is  even  willing  to  give  his  life  for  the  sheep. 
And  the  more  feeble  a  Church  may  be,  the  more  it  needs  the  service 
of  a  Pastor ;  who  will  make  its  lot  his  own,  who  is  willing  to  spend 
and  be  spent  for  it,  who  is  not  mainly  occupied  in  looking  out  for  a 
better  place  for  himself  elsewhere,  but  whose  whole  soul  is  intent 
upon  the  growth  in  grace  of  the  people  of  God  and  the  conversion  of 
sinners  there,  until  Zion  shall  find  enlargement  and  the  little  one  be- 
came a  thousand,  through  the  affluent  descent  of  that  celestial  influ- 
ence which  alone  can  make  a  Church  rich,  and  add  no  sorrow 
thereto. 

It  is  readily  conceded  that  exceptional  cases  may  exist,  where  a 
minister  may  rightly  labor  with  a  Church  temporarily,  without  the 
intention,  on  either  side,  of  a  permanent  union.  But  it  is  questiona- 
ble even  then,  it  it  would  not  be  better  for  that  minister  to  remove 
his  relation  to  that  Church,  and  to  be  elected  by  it  its  Pastor,  for  the 
time  that  he  may  remain ;  throwing  in  his  lot  heartily  with  them, 
and  being  one  with  them,  so  long  as  his  labor  is  there.  It  cannot, 
we  think,  be  questioned  that  the  Divine  idea  of  churches  is  of  a 
brotherhood  led  by  a  Pastor ;  and  that  God  may  much  more  reason- 
ably be  expected  to  further,  with  his  continual  help,  a  Church  which 
iti  this  respect  complies  with  the  spirit  of  his  Word,  than  one  which 
ignores,  or  tramples  on  it.  And  as  for  the  '  Stated  Supplies '  them- 
selves, it  may  be  commended  to  their  earnest  and  prayerful  thought, 
whether  the  old-fashioned  Congregational  pastorate  is  not  more  favor- 
able to  the  permanence,  happiness,  and  usefulness  of  the  relation  of  a 
minister  to  his  Church,  than  this  illogical,  unscriptural,  and,  to  say 
the  least,  practically  doubtful  modern  practice?  Meanwhile  it  is 
clear  that  so  long  as  a  '  Stated  Supply '  is  neither  an  officer  nor  a 
member  of  the  Church  to  which  he  temporarily  ministers,  he  is  not 
in  any  Congregational  sense  its  Pastor,  and  has  no  right  to  represent 


154  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

it,  as  such,  in  Councils  to  which  that  Church  may  be  invited  to  send 
its  *  Pastor  and  Delegate ; '  and,  since  he  derives  no  ministerial  char- 
acter from  any  vote  or  action  of  the  Church  to  which  he  preaches,  he 
is  not,  in  any  proper  official  sense,  a  minister  of  Christ  at  all;  as,  if  he 
has  never  received  Ordination  from  any  Church,  he  never  was  officially 
a  minister,  and  if  he  was  ever  ordained  over  t;ome  other  Church,  his 
dismissal  from  it  has  reduced  him  again  to  the  position  of  a  layman  — 
having  only  that  right  to  preach  which  any  gifted  layman  has,  after 
the  approval  of  his  gifts  by  some  '  licensing '  body. 

But  suppose  him  to  have  been  '  Ordained  as  an  Evangelist,'  — 
would  not  that  give  him  power  to  exercise  his  ministry  everywhere 
and  always,  without  action  from  any  particular  Church  ?  To  this  we 
reply  that,  strictly  speaking,  on  pure  Congregational  principles  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  'ordaining'  men  as  *  Evangelists.'  Ordination  is  the 
act  by  which  —  usually  through  a  Council  —  a  Church  solemnly  in- 
ducts to  his  position  the  Pastor  whom  it  has  previously  elected  over 
itself^  Congregationalism  knows  of  no  other  ordination  than  this. 
Our  Fathers  knew  of  none  other.^     There  is  neither  Scriptural  jus- 


1  See  pages  137-143. 

2  Hooker  say8,  "  There  ought  to  be  no  ordination  of  a  minister  at  large,  namely,  such  as 
should  make  him  Pastor  without  a  people."—  Survey,  etc.   Preface,  p.  xvi. 

Isaac  Chauncy  says,  "  Christ  never  constituted  such  a  ministry,  but  what  were  set  in  a  par- 
ticular Church  by  election." — Divine  Institution  of  Congregational  Churches.  (London,  1697). 
p.  18. 

John  Owen  (in  his  True  Nature  of  a  Gospel  Church),  argues  at  length  that  "no  Church 
whatever  hath  power  to  ordain  men  ministers  for  the  conversion  of  infidels  "  [i.  e.  Heathen], 
"  antecedently  unto  any  designation  by  divine  providence  thereunto."  He  further  argues  that 
no  man  can  be  ordained  but  unto  a  determinate  ofBce  over  some  particular  Church,  because, 
(1.)  it  is  against  the  practice  of  the  Apostles;  (2.)  it  was  absolutely  forbidden  in  the  ancient 
Church,  by  the  Council  of  Chalcedon ;  (3.)  such  ordination  wants  an  essential  constitutive 
cause,  and  is  therefore  invalid  ;  (4.)  it  makes  a  relate  without  a  correlate,  which  is  impossible  ; 
(5.)  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  whole  nature  and  end  of  the  Pastoral  office. —  Works,  Vol.  xvi. 
pp.  92-94. 

Increase  Mather  (in  his  Order  of  the  Churches  in  Neio  England  vindicated)  answers,  in  the 
negative,  the  question  whether  "  a  man  may  be  ordained  a  Pastor  except  to  a  particular  Church, 
and  in  the  presence  of  that  Church?  "  on  these  grounds  ;  (1.)  there  is  no  instance  of  any  such 
ordination  in  Scripture ;  (2.)  Pastor  and  flock  are  relates,  and  therefore  one  cannot  be  without 
the  other ;  (3.)  a  Pastor  is  under  obligation  to  feed  every  one  that  is  of  the  flock  which  he  is  a 
Pastor  unto  (Acts  xx  :  28,  Heb.  xiii :  17),  which  would  be  impossible  ;  (4.)  if  a  man  is  Pastor  of 
the  Church  universal,  no  particular  Church  has  any  jurisdiction  over  him ;  (5.)  ancient  experi- 
ment proved  the  inexpediency  of  such  general  ordinations,  and  led  to  their  suppression ; 
(6.)  they  are  contrary  to  the  judgment  of  the  most  eminent  divines,  and  the  practice  of  the 
best  Reformed  churches. —  Order,  etc.  pp.  101-109. 

The  practical  question  as  to  what  should  be  done  in  the  case  of  missionaries  to  the  Indians, 
early  arose  in  New  England,  and  the  manner  of  its  answer  shows  the  conscientious  convictions 
of  our  Fathers.    Stephen  Badger  was  ordained  a  missionary  to  the  Indians,  at  Natick,  but  he 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM  IS.  155 

tification  nor  suggested  need  of  any  other.  The  supposed  need,  in 
the  case  of  '  Evangelists '  and  Missionaries,  grows  out  of  the  assump- 
tion that  only  an  ordained  person  has  the  right  to  administer  Baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper.  But  that  assumption  is  a  legacy  of  Popery 
which  Congregationalism  will  do  well  to  decline ;  since  the  Bible  does 
neither  affirm  nor  endorse  it.^     Scripturally,  one  of  the  Deacons  or 


was  called  and  ordained  in  connection  with  a  Church  gathered  there.  The  officers  of  the 
churches  of  the  converted  Indians  at  Martha's  Vineyard  were  ordained  only  after  choice  of  those 
churches  In  1733,  1735,  1754,  and  1762,  missionaries  were  ordained  at  Boston  and  Deerfield,  to 
labor  among  the  Indians.  Some  who  took  part  in  them  seem  to  have  had  scruples  which  they 
quieted  on  the  theory  that  the  action  was  only  anticipatory  of  that  which  would  come  from  the 
churches  which  would  be  gathered ;  and  this  is  the  only  logical  ground  on  which  a  Congrega- 
tionaUst  can  assist  in  such  an  ordination.  But  such  an  Evangelical  fiction  is  needless,  and 
therefore  indefensible.  —  See  Upham's  Katio  Disciplince,  pp  130-137 ;  Cumming's  Congrega- 
tional Dictionary,  pp  170,  276-279. 

1  The  great  command  of  Christ  to  baptize  all  nations,  was  indeed  addressed  to  "  the  eleven  " 
Apostles  but  not  in  such  a  sense  as  to  indicate  that  they  alone  should  have  the  right  to  bap- 
tize. It  is  clear,  (from  John  iv :  2,  and  Acts  ii :  41,)  that  the  "  disciples  "  baptized.  Philip  the 
Deacon  baptized  the  Eunuch.  Ananias  seems  to  have  baptized  Paul,  Peter  did  not  himself 
baptize  CorneUus  and  his  company  (Acts  x :  48).  Paul  (1  Cor,  i :  14-17)  was  accustomed  to 
leave  his  converts  to  be  baptized  by  others.  There  is  not — we  make  bold  to  say  — a  single 
passage  in  the  New  Testament  which,  directly  or  indirectly,  lays  down  as  a  precept,  or  portrays 
even  in  the  form  of  an  example,  the  duty  of  baptizing,  as  one  that  inheres  in  the  Pastor  of  a 
Church.  Doddridge,  indeed,  says,  {Lectures  on  Divinity,  Lect.  cc,  Sec.  x.  3)  "it  is  fit  that 
baptism  should  be  administered  only  by  the  teachers  and  ministers  of  the  Church  where  their 
assistance  can  be  had ,  not  only  because  it  appears  that  these  were  the  persons  by  whom  it  was 
administered  in  the  New  Testament,  but  because  (cceteris  paribus)  they  must  be  most  capable 
of  judging  who  are  the  fit  subjects  of  it  "  But  this,  in  the  first  place,  concedes  all  that  we  claim— 
for  we  only  hold  that  baptism  may  be  administered  by  duly  authorized  laymen,  when  the  assis- 
tance of  a  Pastor  cannot  be  had;  while,  in  the  second  place,  it  makes  a  question.able  inference 
from  the  New  Testament  —  since  there  is  no  evidence  that  all  of  the  disciples  who  baptized, 
were  "  teachers  and  ministers  "  of  churches  ;  and,  in  the  third  place,  it  rests  upon  an  argument 
without  practical  foundation  —  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  business  of  the  administrator  of  Baptism, 
to  baptize  only  those  whom  the  Church  directs  him  to  seal  with  that  ordinance  ;  as  being  either 
the  infant  children  of  believers  whose  right  is  recognized  in  its  articles  of  faith  and  covenant,  or 
individuals  whom  it  has  voted  to  be  suitable  candidates  for  its  membership  —  the  Church  thus 
always  assuming  judgment  "  who  are  the  fit  subjects  "  of  the  ordinance 

As  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  there  is  no  precept  from  the  Ups  of  Christ  himself  prescribing  any 
person  or  persons,  as  the  proper  officiators  His  words  were  (Paul  says)  to  the  whole  body, 
"  this  do,  in  remembrance  of  me."  Nor  is  there  a  word  in  Paul's  description  of  the  scene,  or 
comments  upon  it,  to  imply  that,  in  his  apprehension,  the  validity  or  propriety  of  the  ordi- 
nance depended,  in  any  manner,  upon  the  person  who  was  the  medium  of  the  words  said,  and 
the  actions  done  All  the  stress  is  laid  on  the  social  character  of  the  rite,  as  one  in  which  the 
whole  body  of  believers  join ;  —  "  this  do  v«."  "  as  often  as  y&  eat  and  drink,"  etc.,  "  ye  do  shew 
the  Lord's  death  till  he  come,"  ''  when  ye  coiue  together  to  eat,  tarry  one  for  another,"  "  that 
ye  come  not  together  unto  condemnation,"  etc  It  would,  of  course,  be  natural  for  the  Pastor 
to  officiate,  where  there  was  a  Pastor,  but  no  law  of  that  sort  is  enacted,  no  advice  thereto 
given. 

In  conformity  with  this  freedom,  was  the  practice  of  the  early  Church.  Dr  Coleman  says, 
(Ancient  Christianity,  p.  390)  "  the  duty  of  administering  the  ordinance  [of  Baptism]  does  not 


156  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

any  brother  of  the  Church,  whom  it  may  authorize  for  the  purpose, 
is  competent  —  in  the  absence  of  its  Pastor  —  to  baptize,  or  to  preside 


appear  to  have  been  restricted  to  any  officer  of  the  Church. .  .  .  Lay  baptism,  of  which  frequent 
mention  is  made  in  the  early  history  of  the  Church,  was  undoubtedly  treated  as  valid  by  the 
laws  and  usages  of  the  ancient  Church."  So  he  says  (p.  427)  of  the  Lord's  Supper —  "  nothing 
is  said  in  the  New  Testament  respecting  the  person  whose  prerogative  it  is  to  administer  this 
sacrament. .  .  .  According  to  the  earliest  documents  of  the  2d  and  3d  centuries,  it  was  the  ap- 
propriate office  of  the  president  of  the  assembly  to  administer  the  Eucharist."  Tertullian 
(A.  D.  200)  asserts  the  right  of  the  lay  members  of  the  Church  both  to  baptize  and  to  adminis- 
ter the  Lord's  Supper,  {De  Exhort.  Cast.  Opera.  Ed.  Lipsise,  Vol.  ii.  p.  105)  See  also,  to  the 
same  purport,  Erasmus  {Ed.  Lib.  xxvi.  Vol.  iii.),  and  Grotius  (De  CancB.  Ad.  ubi  pastores  non 
Sunt    Opera.  Vol.  iv.  p.  507 

A  few  more  modern  endorsements  of  the  opinions  here  advocated  will  now  be  quoted . 

"  We  nowhere  read  in  Scripture  of  the  Lord's  Supper  being  distributed  to  the  first  Chris- 
tians by  an  appointed  minister ;  we  are  only  told  that  they  partook  of  it  in  common,  and  that 
frequently,  and  in  private  houses.  (Acts  ii :  42.)  I  know  no  reason,  therefore,  why  ministers 
refuse  to  permit  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  except  where  they  themselves  are  allowed 
to  administer  it ;  for  if  it  be  alleged  that  Christ  gave  the  bread  and  wine  to  his  disciples,  it 
may  be  repUed,  first,  that  we  nowhere  read  of  his  giving  them  to  each  individually  —  and,  sec- 
ondly, that  he  was  then  acting  in  the  character,  not  of  a  minister,  but  of  the  founder  of  a  new 
institution." — John  Milton    Christian  Doctrine,  (Sumner's  translation),  p.  445 

"  When  a  pastor  died,  or  was  removed,  the  Church  was  not  obliged  to  desist  from  commem- 
orating the  Lord's  death,  any  more  than  from  receiving  or  excluding  members  ;  and  it  was  as 
lawful  for  them  to  appoint  a  Deacon,  or  any  senior  member,  to  preside  in  the  one  case,  as  in 
the  other."— Andrew  Fuller.    Works,  Vol.  v.  p.  285. 

"  What  tliey  conceive  to  be  in  that  oi-dinance  especially — either  in  the  blessing  and  giving 
thanks  which  accompanies  it,  or  in  the  distribution  of  the  bread  and  wine  among  the  disciples, 
which  makes  the  presence  of  Elders  [Pastors]  more  necessary  in  it  than  in  praise,  or  prayer,  or 
reading,  or  mutual  exhortation,  etc.,  it  is  hard  to  say.  But  this  is  certain,  that  one  of  the 
main  pillars  of  clerical  assumption  is  the  idea  that  men  —  possessing  a  certain  function,  dis- 
tinct from  the  mass  of  the  disciples  —  are  necessary  to  administer  the  Supper  of  the  Lord  " — 
John  Walker.     Remains,  etc.,  Vol.  i.  p.  343. 

"  It  is  supposed  by  some  that  none  may  in  any  ease  administer  it  [the  Lord's  Supper]  ex- 
cept an  ordained  Elder  Viewing  the  ordinance  in  the  light  of  the  New  Testament,  it  does  not 
seem  to  us  that  it  would  be  necessarily  desecrated  if  observed  in  the  absence  of  Pastors  Others 
may  preside,  without  impairing  the  value  of  it  to  the  recipients  ;  and  without  the  guilt  of  pre- 
sumption It  may  be  as  worthily  received  in  the  absence  of  a  presiding  office-bearer,  as  in  his 
presence.  When  an  Elder  is  present,  he  properly  presides  at  the  ordinance,  inasmuch  as  he  is 
the  ruler  of  the  Church.  Entrusted  with  the  constant  oversight  of  the  society,  he  is  perpetual 
President,  at  every  meeting  of  the  brethren.  This  is  involved  in  his  office  of  ruling,  or  govern- 
ing. But  yet  no  virtue  is  transferred  from  the  individual  who  thus  presides  —  whether  he  be 
styled  clergyman,  priest,  or  elder  —  to  the  communicant.  He  simply  invokes  the  Divine  bless- 
ing, and  distributes  the  bread  and  wine  ;  addressing,  perhaps,  a  few  words  of  exhortation  to  the 
assembled  Church.  Thus,  when  a  Church  has  no  Elders,  the  members  may  legitimately  par- 
take of  the  Supper.  An  Elder's  presence  is  not  essential  to  the  validity  of  it.  It  is  desirable, 
because  the  presumption  is  that  such  an  one  is  better  qualified  to  lead  the  devotions  of  the 
brethren  more  profitably  than  an  individual  selected  from  among  themselves.  Hence  it  may 
be  most  advantageous  to  have  an  official  person  presiding.  But  it  is  certainly  unnecessary  to 
send  for  the  Elder  of  another  Church  ;  for  such  an  one  bears  no  official  relation  to  any  society 
except  his  own  Standing  among  the  brethren  of  another  Church,  he  occupies  the  same  posi- 
tion with  one  of  the  brethren  themselves.  All  that  he  brings  with  him  is  the  experience  he 
has  gained  in  profitably  presiding  at  the  ordinance  in  his  own  Church.    When  a  Church, 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS.  157 

at  the  remembrance  of  Christ  in  the  Lord's  Supper.  This  being  so, 
there  is  no  need  for  the  missionary  to  the  Heathen,  abroad  or  at 
home,  to  receive  ordination  before  he  commences  his  work.  Let  him 
go  on  the  ground,  and  gather  together  there  a  Church,  and  then  let 
them  call,  and  ordain  him,  as  their  Pastor  —  with  counsel  from  other 
churches  if  they  can  get  it,  without  it  if  need  be  —  and  then  he  will 
be  Scripturally,  and  Congregationally,  their  Pastor  and  minister. 
Of  course  there  is  no  objection  to  his  being  "consecrated  and  set 
apart"  to  his  work  as  a  missionary,  before  his  departure,  by  the 
Church  of  which  he  has  been  a  member,  if  they  do  not  mistake  the 
nature  of  that  service  as  if  it  were  strictly  ordination  —  which,  (how- 
ever pleasant  and  edifying  and  desirable  such  a  service  may  seem  in 
itself,)  it  cannot  be. 

If  these  principles  are  true,  it  follows  that  one  who  has  been  *  or- 
dained as  an  Evangelist,'  stand-,  in  the  matter  of  his  official  relation 
to  the  churches  of  Christ,  exactly  where  he  stood  before  that  cere- 
mony. He  has  the  same  right  to  preach  which  any  layman  has, 
whose  gifts  and  graces  invite  and  warrant  the  confidence  of  good  peo- 
ple, that  God  calls  him  to  the  pulpit ;  he  has  the  same  right  to  bap- 
tize and  to  administer  the  Lord's  Supper  in  emergencies  where  any 
Church  may  be  disposed,  in  the  absence  of  a  Pastor,  to  authorize 
him  by  its  vote  to  do  so,  which  he  had  before,  or  which  any  other 
layman  would  have  under  similar  circumstances  —  and  no  more. 


therefore,  is  without  Elders,  or  Pastors,  let  them  by  all  means  partake  of  the  Sacred  Supper. 
It  is  their  duty  and  privilege  to  do  so.  To  neglect  it  is  highly  culpable.  A  Deacon  selected  by 
the  brethren  may  preside.  This  is  sufficient  .  The  view  now  given  is  in  accordance  with 
the  New  Testament,  From  the  1st  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  we  infer  that  the  Church  at  Cor- 
inth had  no  office-bearers  at  the  time  when  Paul  wrote  to  them.  He  regarded  the  ordinance 
of  the  Supper  as  peculiarly  belonging  to  the  disciples,  to  be  attended  to  by  them,  even  in  the 
absence  of  ordinary  pastors  ....  The  New  Testament  intimates,  in  other  places,  that  the  first 
churches  partook  of  the  Supper  before  they  had  Pastors  ....  There  is,  besides,  nothing  in  the 
nature  of  the  Lord's  Supper  which  would  render  the  presence  of  an  Elder  essential  to  its  right 
observance.  The  ordinance  is  simple.  It  is  chiefly  commemorative."  ....  So  "  there  is  no 
one  passage  in  all  the  New  Testament,  which  proves  that  it  is  the  exclusive  prerogative  of  the 
Elders  to  baptize.  And  yet  the  notion  is  tenaciously  held.  Coming,  as  it  does,  from  the  Church 
of  Rome,  and  received  from  that  source  by  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  it  has  taken  hold 
of  other  denominations."— Davidson.  Eccles.  Polity  of  New  Test.  pp.  280,  283-286. 

Dr  Watts  (in  his  Foundation  of  a  Christian  Church)  says,  "  The  Church  may  appoint  private 
members  to  administer  seals  [Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper]  rather  than  to  neglect  them." — 
Works,  Vol.  iii.  p.  222. 

Samuel  Mather  quotes  approvingly  Fabritius,  where  he  says,  "  if  any  man,  even  a  Laic,  be 
appointed  by  the  Church  to  administer  the  Sacrament,  if  he  does  it,  he  does  nothing  but  his 
duty,  and  neither  ofifends  against  the  faith,  nor  against  good  order  " — Apology,  p  61 


158  CONGREGATIOXALISM, 

His  *  ordination  *  service  may  have  been  an  edifying  and  profitable 
one  in  its  exercises  and  influence,  but  it  has  made  him  no  less  a  lay- 
man, and  no  more  a  minister  than  it  found  him ;  simply  because  it 
was  not  the  act  of  a  Church  deputing  to  a  Council  its  power  to  sol- 
emnize his  entrance  to  the  Pastoral  office  over  it,  to  which  its  vote 
had  previously  called  him ;  and  that  is  the  only  kind  of  ordination 
which  the  Bible,  or  Congregationalism,  knows  or  warrants.^  Of 
course,  then,  a  '  Stated  Supply '  gains  no  official  rank,  or  power,  from 
the  fact  that  he  may  have  commenced  his  career  by  being  '  ordained 
as  an  Evangelist.'  ^ 


1  "  Those  notions  which  conceive  of  it  [ordination]  as  some  mysterious  gift  or  prerogative  — 
in  fact  degrade  it  to  a  cabalistic  process,  and  are  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  disguised  rem- 
nants of  popery." — Bibliotheca  Sacra,  Vol.  v.  (1848.)  p  517. 

For  light  upon  the  process  by  which  the  hierarchal  element  gradually  invaded  and  overthrew 
the  primitive  simplicity  and  purity  of  the  faith  in  the  particulars  above-mentioned,  introducing 
the  fiction  of  mystic  grace  in  ordination,  and  making  Baptism  and  the  Eucharist  to  depend  upon 
priestly  administration,  see  Neander's  History  of  the  Christian  Religion  and  Church,  Vol.  i.  pp. 
182-204,  and  304-332  ;  also  SchafiTs  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  pp.  130,  131 ;  and  Shedd's 
Guericke,  pp.  139-145.    See  also,  particularly,  Dr.  Colman's  Ancient  Christianity,  pp.  362-450. 

2  Having  read  the  proof-sheets  of  these  last  nine  pages  to  a  valued  friend  learned  in  Congre- 
gationalism, he  objected  to  our  doctrine  of  the  demission  of  the  ministry  —  upon  dismission 
from  the  Pastorship  of  a  particular  Church  —  acknowledging  that  we  were  correct  in  our  repre- 
sentation of  the  views  of  the  founders  of  New  England  Congregationalism  in  that  particular  ; 
but  suggesting  that  it  might  be  a  more  excellent  way  upon  which  our  time  has  fallen  ;  an  im- 
provement upon  the  rigid  practice  of  the  past,  which  it  might  be  wiser  to  cherish,  than  to 
condemn. 

But  can  an  illogical  inference  from  the  fundamental  principles  of  a  system  be  safely  engrafted 
upon  that  system  ?  If  suffered  to  root  itself  in  the  popular  conviction  as  true  and  wise,  must 
it  not  inevitably  react  to  undermine  and  uproot  such  first  principles  as  cannot  be  true  if  it  is 
true  ?  '  It  is  a  poor  rule  that  will  not  work  both  ways.'  If  it  become  good  Congregational- 
ism to  hold  that  ordination  impresses  upon  a  man  the  indelible  character  of  a  minister,  no  mat- 
ter into  what  secularities  his  subsequent  life  may  plunge  itself,  so  long  as  he  avoids  that  moral 
delinquency  which  would  lead  to  formal  deposition  ;  must  not  the  people  be  educated  by  that 
concession  to  understand  that  ordination  is  really,  for  substance,  all  that  is  claimed  by  the 
Papists  and  Episcopalians,  and  that  to  be  a  minister  is,  after  all,  to  be  an  official  personage, 
irrespective  of  all  Church  action  and  consent,  or  even  Church  existence  ?  And  is  it  for  the  in- 
terests of  Congregationalism,  or  of  the  cause  of  piety,  for  such  unscriptural  notions  to  find  a 
lodgment  in  the  community  ? 

And  —  wholly  aside  from  all  the  bearings  of  the  matter  as  a  question  of  principle  —  is  it  not 
clear  that  in  point  of  practice,  the  prevalence  of  such  notions  is  damaging  to  the  true  dignity 
of  the  ministry,  the  best  welfare  of  the  churches,  and  the  common  fame  of  Christianity  ?  AVe 
can  easily  recall  to  mind  more  than  one  person,  once  a  settled  pastor,  but  now  a  farmer,  or  a 
merchant,  or  a  physician,  or  a  lawyer,  or  the  keeper  of  a  boarding-house  —  six  days  in  the 
week  perhaps  only  discernible  from  other  laymen  by  the  superior  whiteness  of  his  cnivat,  and 
the  inferior  tenderness  of  his  conscience  in  all  little  matters  where  money  is  to  be  made  in  bar- 
gaining, and  on  the  seventh,  always  willing  to  supplement  his  six  days'  earnings  by  the  Sab- 
bath day's  wages  of  some  "  vacant  "  pulpit  —  whose  general  course  in  this  regard  is  not  a  credit 
to  the  profession  to  which  he  still  claims  (unscripturally  and  uncongregationally)  to  belong. 
Nor  should  we  have  to  travel  far  to  identify  churches  which  have  been  brought  almost  to  the 


WHENCE    CONGREGATIONALISM:  IS.  159 

Such  we  understand  to  be  the  necessary  results  of  the  first  princi- 
ples of  our  faith  in  their  application  to  these  questions.  It  is  not 
denied  that  the  present  practice  of  the  denomination  varies,  more  or 
less  widely,  in  some  particulars,  from  them.  But  it  is  firmly  believed 
that  all  such  variance  is  the  result  of  illogical  and  inexpedient  retro- 
cession from  pure  Congregationalism,  in  the  way  of  concession  to  the 
influences  of  Presbyterianism  and  the  Papacy;  which  every  lover 
of  the  purity  and  simphcity  of  the  '  faith  once  dehvered  to  the  saints/ 
is  called  upon  to  deplore  and  resist. 


verge  of  extinction  by  that  wicked  economy  which  has  led  them  to  drag  on  a  lingering  exist- 
ence, year  after  year,  with  the  "  Stated  Supply  "  of  two  heartless  (and  yellow)  sermons  on  the 
Sabbath,  from  some  layman,  who,  because  he  has  a  barrel  of  them,  which  only,  now,  costs  him 
house-room,  and  because  he  earns  his  living  at  some  secular  employment  during  the  week,  can 
afford  to  administer  them  "  cheaper  "  than  the  Church  could  support  a  Pastor;  and  whom  the 
Church  suppose,  because  he  was  once  a  minister,  to  be  a  minister  still.  Nor  would  it  be  difficult 
to  show  that  the  cause  of  Christ  has  sorely  suffered  from  such  a  mean  and  mercenary  procedure. 
Here  is  a  case,  we  must  feel,  demanding  the  zeal  of  those  who  inquire  afifectingly  for  "  the  old 
paths." 

Let  nothing  here  said  be  construed,  however,  to  the  disparagement  of  those  who  are  evidently 
called  of  God  to  serve  the  churches  in  some  other  capacity  than  that  of  Pastors  ;  as  Professors 
in  Theological  Seminaries,  or  Colleges,  Secretaries  and  Agents  of  Benevolent  Societies,  and  the 
like.  Though  neither  Pastors  nor  Deacons,  they  yet  have  some  special  and  creditable  relation 
to  the  churches  collectively  —  in  the  case  of  those  acting  as  instructors,  not  wholly  unlike  that 
of  the  '  Teacher  '  of  the  early  days  of  New  England.  While  it  may  be  difficult,  on  Scriptural 
principles,  to  class  and  name  them,  it  is  not  difficult  to  appreciate  their  indispeusableness  to  the 
general  cauee. 


CHAPTER    III. 

HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS. 

Having  thus  considered  that  groundwork  of  principles  on  which 
the  Puritan  system  rests,  we  pass  next  to  some  brief  consideration  of 
the  practical  application  of  those  principles  in  the  various  processes 
of  Church  life  and  action  ;  endeavoring  to  set  forth,  under  its  several 
heads,  what  we  understand  to  be  the  right  method  of  doing  all  Church 
work  —  in  carrying  out  Christ's  way  of  CongregationaUsm  for  his 
people. 

Section  1.   How  to  form  a  Church. 

That  which  constitutes  isolated  individual  believers  a  Church,  is 
their  solemn  agreement  together  to  become  a  Church,  by  covenanting 
with  God  and  each  other  to  "  walk  in  all  his  ways  made  known,  or  to 
be  made  known  unto  them,  according  to  their  best  endeavors,  what- 
soever it  shall  cost  them  —  the  Lord  assisting  them." 

The  first  question  must  always  be  —  "is  it  expedient  to  form  a 
Church  in  this  place?"  Three  things  may  usually  be  considered 
essential  to  an  affirmative  answer  to  this  question,  namely:  (1.)  the 
absence  of  needful  Church  privileges ;  (2.)  the  interest  of  a  sufficient 
number  of  suitable  persons  in  the  movement ;  (3.)  a  reasonable 
prospect  of  permanence  and  self-support  for  the  enterprise.  With 
regard  to  the  first,  it  may  be  said,  in  general,  that  the  convenience  of 
professing  Christians  is  one  element  in  its  decision,  and  the  welfare 
of  the  impenitent,  and  the  need  of  Church  labor  among  the  people,  is 
another,  and  a  very  important  one.  For  example,  in  the  outskirts  of 
cities,  and  large  towns,  it  may  often  be  the  duty  of  professing  Chris- 
tians who  might  themselves  be  quite  conveniently  accommodated 
with  Church  privileges  in  connection  with  existing  organizations,  to 

(160) 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  161 

associate  together  to  form  a  new  Church,  in  order — as  Home  mis- 
sionaries —  to  bring  the  ordinances  of  the  Gospel  to  bear  upon  a  des- 
titute portion  of  the  community.  With  regard  to  the  second,  no 
definite  number  can  be  fixed  upon  as  absolutely  essential  to  the  form- 
ation of  a  Church ;  but  if  the  Great  Head  clearly  press  present  duty, 
and  open  a  reasonable  prospect  of  future  enlargement,  where  only 
*  two  or  three  agree  as  touching  this  thing,'  and  are  *  gathered  together 
in  His  name,'  they  need  not  fear  that  He  will  not  be  in  the  midst  of 
them.^  With  regard  to  the  third  point,  we  think  it  is  clear  that  —  in 
all  ordinary  cases — there  ought  to  be  a  fair  prospect  that  the  demand 
for  a  Church  organization  will  be  a  permanent  one,  and  that  a  new 
enterprise  may  reasonably  anticipate  self-support.  It  seems  to  us 
that  the  formation  of  a  Christian  Church  is  too  solemn  a  thing  to  be 
associated  with  any  movement  that,  on  the  face  of  it,  must  be  spas- 
modic and  temporary. 

These  questions  having  been  affirmatively  settled  —  they  ought  to 
be  settled  with  prayer  and  fasting  —  those  persons  who  intend  to 
become  associated  in  the  movement,  who  are  members  of  other 
churches,  should  apply  to  them  for  letters  of  dismission  and  recom- 
mendation, for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in  the  formation  of  the  proposed 
new  Church.^     It  would  be  well  also  for  them  to  appoint  a  committee 

1  Our  Fathers  generally  held  that  seven  -was  the  least  number  who  could  rightly  associate  to 
form  a  Church  (See  Cotton  Mather's  Ratio,  Art.  I.  Sec.  1)  This  was  not,  however,  from  any 
absurd  and  superstitious  reverence  for  the  number  seven,  as  Mr.  Peter  Oliver  so  gratuitously 
suggests,  in  his  pert  and  violent  Puritan  Commonwealth,  (p.  155)  but  because,  according  to 
their  calculation,  the  directions  of  our  Saviour  in  the  18th  of  Matthew,  in  regard  to  Church 
discipline,  could  not  be  literally  carried  out  with  a  less  number  ;  namely,  the  offender,  the  com- 
plainant, the  two  witnesses,  and  two  members  with  the  moderator,  who  might  constitute  the 
body  to  hear  and  try  the  case  —  making  seven  in  all.  (See  also  Cotton's  Way,  p.  53,  and 
Mather  and  Tompson's  Answer  to  Herle,  in  Hanbury,  Vol.  ii.  p.  172.)  John  Robinson,  how- 
ever, held  that  "two  or  three  "  were  sufficient,  in  necessity  {Aiisiver  to  Bernard,  Works,  Vol. 
ii.  p.  232.) 

2  The  following  would  be  an  appropriate  form  of  request  for  a  letter  of  this  description : 

To  the Church  in 

Dear  Brethren : 

Whereas  the  Providence  of  God  has  led  me  to  this  place,  and  seems 
to  make  it  my  duty  to  become  associated  with  other  Christians  here  in  the  formation 
of  a  Congregational  Church,  this  is  to  request  you  to  give  me  such  a  letter  of  dis- 
mission and  reconunendation  as  may  be  suitable  in  these  circumstances. 
Faithfully  and  Affectionately, 
Your  brother, 

{Date,  and  place  of  date.)  A B . 

If  it  should  so  happen  that  any  of  the  proposed  members  of  the  new  Church  are  members 

11 


162  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

of  (say,  three)  brethren  to  prepare  a  list  of  all  proposing  themselves 
as  members,  and  a  form  of  Confession  of  Faith  and  Covenant,  to  be 
the  basis  of  their  union. 

If  they  are  so  situated  —  as  they  might  be  in  some  extreme  border 
wilderness  —  that  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  secure  the  counsel  and 
cooperation  of  existing  Congregational  churches  in  the  act  of  their 
formation ;  they  may  then,  on  receipt  of  letters  dismissing  those  who 
have  been  members  of  other  churches,  proceed,  by  solemn  vote,  to 
associate  themselves  as  a  Christian  Church  upon  the  basis  of  the 
Articles  of  Faith  and  Covenant  to  which  they  have  agreed,  and  may 
then  go  on  to  elect  necessary  officers.  Such  a  Church,  so  constituted 
without  the  concurrent  advice  and  tendered  fellowship  of  other  Con- 
gregational churches,  is  a  Congregational  Church,  if  its  Independency 
is  a  mere  necessity  of  position  and  circumstance  —  to  be  removed 
whenever  other  churches  come  near  enough  to  it  to  be  reached  by 
the  right-hand  of  its  fellowship. 

In  all  ordinary  cases,  however,  the  next  step  after  the  appointment 
of  the   Committee  to  prepare  the  Articles  of  Faith  and  Covenant,^ 

of  churches  in  other  denominations,  —  whose  practice  may  not  be  to  give  letters  to  their  mem- 
bers who  ask  for  them  under  such  circumstances,  it  might  be  well  for  the  phraseology  of 
the  above  letter  to  be  modified  by  the  insertion  of  the  following  clause  in  place  of  what  comes 
after  "  this  is,  etc.'''  in  the  third  line,  so  as  to  make  it  read :  — 

"to  notify  yon  of  the  same,  and  respectfully  to  request  you  take  such  action,  under 
the  circumstances,  as  may  seem  to  you  expedient." 

If  no  answer  should  be  received  to  such  a  request  within  a  reasonable  time,  it  might  be  repeat- 
ed, so  as  to  make  sure  against  accidents  by  mail,  and  if  no  notice  were  taken  of  the  repeated 
request,  the  person  asking  for  a  letter  —  having  done  his  duty  in  the  premises  —  might  then 
report  the  facts  to  the  Council  called  to  advise  with  reference  to  the  formation  of  the  Church, 
or  to  the  Church,  if  it  had  been  already  formed,  and  the  way  would  be  open  for  his  reception, 
by  special  vote,  without  any  letter. 

It  would  be  a  violation  of  Christian  courtesy,  and  of  covenant,  however,  for  a  member 
of  such  a  Church  —  even  if  he  were  sure,  beforehand,  that  no  notice  would  be  taken  of  his 
request  for  dismission  to  a  Congregational  Church  —  to  join  another  Church  without  first 
asking  to  be  released  from  his  previous  relation.  He  ought  to  do  his  duty,  and  leave  the  Church 
to  do  what  they  think  is  theirs  :  and  no  expectation  of  refusal  on  their  part  can  excuse  neglect 
on  his. 

1  The  following  forms  of  Articles  of  Faith  and  Covenant,  are  submitted  as  brief  and  perti- 
nent —  in  case  aid  is  desired  in  drawing  them  up  : 

Articles  op  Faith. 

1  We  believe  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  are  the  word  of  God,  and 
the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  and  —  in  accordance  with  the  teachings  of  those 
Scriptures :  — 

2.  We  believe  in  One  God  —  subsisting  in  three  persons,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  —  eternal,  unchangeable,  and  omnipresent,  infinite  in  power,  wisdom,  and  holiness ;  the 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  163 

would  be  the  appointment  of  another — or  the  designation  to  the  same 
committee  of  the  new  duty  —  to  call  a  Council  of  the  neighboring 


Creator  and  Preserver  of  all  things,  whose  purposes  and  providence  extend  to  all  events,  and 
■who  exercises  a  righteous  moral  government  over  all  his  intelligent  creatures. 

3.  We  believe  that  man  was  originally  holy  ;  that  our  first  parents  disobeyed  the  command 
of  God;  and  that,  in  consequence  of  their  apostasy,  all  their  descendants  do  also  transgress 
His  law,  and  come  under  its  just  condemnation. 

4.  We  believe  that  God  has  provided  a  way  of  salvation  for  all  mankind  ,  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  having  taken  upon  himself  our  nature,  has,  by  his  voluntary  sufferings 
and  death,  made  an  atonement  for  sin  ;  and  that  every  one  who,  with  repentance  for  sin,  re- 
ceives Christ  as  a  Saviour,  will  be  pardoned,  justified,  and  saved  through  that  faith  alone. 

5.  We  believe  that  while  salvation  is  thus  freely  offered  to  all  men,  none  do  truly  repent  and 
believe  in  Christ  but  those  who,  according  to  the  sovereign  grace  and  eternal  purposes  of  God, 
are  renewed  and  sanctified  by  His  Holy  Spirit,  in  obeying  the  Gospel ;  and  that  none  who  are 
thus  renewed  and  chosen  to  eternal  life,  will  ever  be  permitted  so  to  fall  away  as  finally  to 
perish. 

6.  We  believe  that  the  Christian  Sabbath,  the  Church,  and  the  ordinances  of  Baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper,  are  of  divine  appointment,  and  the  duties  connected  with  them,  of  perpetual 
obligation  ;  but  that  only  members  in  good  standing  of  the  visible  Church,  have  a  right  to  par- 
take of  the  Lord's  Supper  ;  and  that  only  they,  and  their  households,  can  be  admitted  to  the 
ordinance  of  Baptism. 

7  We  believe  that  there  will  be  a  resurrection  of  all  the  dead  ;  and  that  God  will,  after  that, 
judge  all  men  —  manifesting  the  glory  of  his  mercy,  in  the  award  of  eternal  salvation  to  his 
people,  and  of  his  justice,  in  the  everlasting  condemnation  of  the  wicked. 

Covenant. 

We,  who  are  called  of  God  to  join  ourselves  into  a  Church  state,  in  deep  sense  of  our  unwor- 
thiness  thereof,  disability  thereto,  and  aptness  to  forsake  the  Lord,  and  neglect  our  duty  to  him 
and  to  each  other,  do  hereby  —  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  and  trusting  in  his  gra- 
cious help —  solemnly  covenant  and  agree,  with  Him  and  with  each  other,  to  walk  together 
as  a  Church  of  Christ,  according  to  all  those  holy  rules  of  God's  Word  given  to  a  Church 
rightly  established,  so  far  as  we  know  them,  or  may  gain  further  light  upon  them.  And,  par- 
ticularly, we  covenant  and  agree :  — 

To  consecrate  ourselves,  our  offspring,  our  worldly  goods,  and  all  that  we  have,  and  are,  unto 
the  Triune  God,  as  the  supreme  object  of  our  love  and  our  chosen  portion,  for  this  world,  and 
for  that  which  is  to  come  ; 

To  give  diligent  heed  to  His  word  and  ordinances  ; 

To  maintain  His  worship  in  the  family  ; 

To  seek  in  all  things  His  glory,  and  the  good  of  men,  and  to  endeavor  to  live  a  holy  and 
peaceable  life  in  all  godliness  and  honesty  ; 

To  contribute  from  our  substance,  and  by  our  active  labors  and  continual  prayers,  to  the 
work  of  this  Church  ; 

To  submit  to  its  Gospel  discipline  ; 

To  labor  for  its  growth,  and  peace,  and  purity  ; 

To  walk  with  each  other  in  Christian  fidelity  and  tenderness  ; 

And,  finally,  to  hold  and  promote  suitable  fellowship  with  all  sister  churches  of  the  common 
Head,  especially  with  those  among  whom  the  Lord  hath  set  us,  that  the  Lord  may  be  one, 
and  his  name  one,  in  all  his  churches  thtoughout  all  generations,  to  his  eternal  glory  in  Christ 
Jesus. 

And  now  the  good  Lord  be  merciful  unto  us,  pardoning,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace, 
as  all  our  past  sins,  so  especially  our  Church  sins,  in  negligence  and  unfaithfulness  of  foru.er 
vows,  and  accept,  as  a  sweet  savor  in  Christ  Jesus,  this  our  offering  up  of  ourselves  unto  him  in 


164  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

churches,  to  advise  the  brethren  and  sisters  who  propose  to  form  the 
new  Church,  whether  —  in  the  judgment  of  the  Council  —  the  cause 
of  Christ  will  be  promoted  by  their  proceeding  according  to  their 
plan,^  and  of  laying  the  whole  subject  before  the  Council  when  assem- 
bled. It  would  be  a  part  of  the  duty  of  this  committee,  also,  to  re- 
quest some  member  of  the  Council  to  come  prepared  to  preach  a  ser- 
mon appropriate  to  the  occasion,  if  the  Council  should  advise  them  to 
proceed ;  and  to  designate  some  brother  of  the  Church  to  receive  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship  from  the  other  churches,  which  the  Council 
—  in  that  case  —  will  tender  them. 

The  Council  being  assembled,  as  invited,  is  organized  by  being 
called  to  order  by  some  one  of  its  older  members,  who  reads  the 
Letter  Missive  which  is  the  authority  for  their  procedure,  and  nomi- 
nates a  Moderator  —  sometimes  calls  for  a  ballot  for  one  —  who, 
being  elected  by  the  Council,  assumes  the  chair,  opens  the  session 
with  prayer,  calls  for  the  election  of  Scribe  (sometimes,  in  large  Coun- 


this  work  ;  filling  this  place  with  his  glory,  making  us  faithful  to  himself  and  to  each  other  so 
long  as  this  transitory  life  shall  last,  and,  after  that  he  has  kept  us  from  falling,  presenting  ug 
faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with  exceeding  joy.*        Amen  I 

1  The  following  would  be  a  proper  form  of  Letter  for  calling  such  a  Council : 


To  the  Congregational  Church  of  Christ  in . 

Dear  Brethren : 

The  Great  Head  of  the  Church  having  inclined  a  number  of  believers  here  to  think 
that  it  is  our  duty  to  become  associated  as  a  Congregational  Church,  we  respectfully 

request  you,  by  your  Pastor,  and  a  delegate,  to  meet  in  Council  at in  this  place, 

on  the of ,  at o'clock  in  the to  consider  the  expediency  of 

the  course  proposed  by  us,  and  advise  us  in  reference  thereto ;  and  should  the  formation 
of  such  a  Church  be  deemed  expedient,  to  assist  in  the  public  service  appropriate  to  its 
formation  and  recognition. 

Wishing  you  grace,  mercy,  and  peace, 

We  subscribe  ourselves. 

Your  brethren  in  Christ, 

Committee  of 
those  proposing  to 
become  a  Church. 
( Date,  and  place  of  date. ) 

N.  B.     The  Churches  invited  to  sit  in  this  Council  are  the  following ;  viz:  — 

Congregational  Church  in .      Jtev.  Mr. Pastor. 

"  "       "  .        "       "     "       etc.,  etc. 


*  The  general  scope,  and  some  of  the  specific  clauses  of  this  Covenant,  are  taken  from  the 
original  covenant  of  the  Old  South  Church  in  Boston,  in  use  by  it  for  more  than  one  hundred 
years.    (See  Wisner's  History  of  the  Old  South  Church,  p.  8,  and  p.  76.) 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM    WORKS.  165 

cils,  for  that  of  Assistant  Scribe)  and,  the  Council  thus  being  fully- 
organized  and  ready  to  proceed  to  its  business,  the  committee  who 
signed  the  Letter  Missive  should  present  to  it  a  list  of  those  who 
gre  willing  to  become  members  of  the  new  Church,  and  state  briefly, 
yet  fully,  the  reasons  which  have  led  them  to  desire  to  take  such  a 
step,  and  to  decide  that  such  a  course  is  their  duty,  and  the  demand 
of  the  Great  Head  upon  them  —  answering  any  and  all  questions 
connected  therewith,  which  any  member  of  the  Council  may  desire 
to  ask.  All  the  facts  in  the  case  being  in,  the  Council  would  then  — 
if  there  is  any  call  for  discussion  upon  the  matter,  asking  all  others 
(including,  of  course,  those  who  seek  their  advice)  to  withdraw,  that 
the  discussion  may  proceed  most  freely  —  vote  either  that  it  is,  or 
is  not,  of  opinion  that  the  proposed  movement  is  wise,  and  one 
which  its  members  are  prepared  to  advise  and  sustain  by  their 
fellowship.  This  vote  being  favorable,  the  Council  would  then  pro- 
ceed to  hear  the  Articles  of  Faith  and  Covenant,  and  to  examine 
candidates  for  membership  in  the  new  Church,  as  to  the  regularity  of 
their  letters  of  dismission,  or  the  fact  of  their  personal  piety,  if  they 
present  themselves  as  new  members.  If  it  be  satisfied  that  a  Church 
ought  to  be  formed ;  that  it  ought  to  be  formed  upon  the  basis  of 
these  Articles  and  Covenant ;  and  that  these  applicants  are  suitable 
persons  to  become  its  members  ;  the  Council  will  then  vote  to  advise 
these  persons  to  proceed  to  form  the  proposed  Church,  and  will  ap- 
point some  of  its  own  number  to  take  such  part  in  the  public  service 
of  the  occasion  as  may  be  desired,  and  desirable ;  the  more  important 
services  usually  performed  by  members  of  the  Council,  being  the  fol- 
lowing ;  namely:  (1.)  Invocation  and  Reading  of  appropriate  Selec- 
tions from  the  Scriptures,  (2.)  Sermon,  (3.)  Reading  of  the  Articles 
of  Faith  and  Covenant,  (4.)  Prayer  of  Recognition  and  Consecration, 
(usually  by  the  Moderator),  (5.)  Right  Hand  of  Fellowship  to  the 
new  Church,  (6.)  Address  to  the  Church,  (7.)  Concluding  Prayer, 
(8.)  Benediction.  These  preliminary  arrangements  being  completed, 
at  the  appointed  hour,  the^e  services  would  be  publicly  performed ; 
the  members  who  are  to  form  the  new  Church,  after  the  readinor  of 
the  Articles  and  Covenant,  assenting  to  the  same,  by  solemn  vote  (all 
rising)  —  thus,  in  accordance  with  the  advice  of  the  Council,  constitut- 
ing themselves  a  Church,  by  their  own  act. 

If  it  were  so  to  happen  that  the  Council  should  not  agree  in  ap- 


166  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

proval  of  the  Articles,  or  Covenant,  or  of  some  portion  of  the  proced- 
ure of  the  brethen  calling  them  together,  it  would  so  report,  and  con- 
ference would  be  had  with  a  view  to  the  adjustment  of  the  difficulty. 
And  if  the  Council  should,  in  the  end,  vote  itself  unable,  for  any  rea- 
son, to  advise  the  formation  of  the  Church,  it  would  remain  for  the 
applicants  to  consider  the  matter,  with  much  humility  and  prayerful- 
ness,  and  either  to  acquiesce  in  the  opinion  of  the  Council,  and  give 
up  their  intention ;  to  modify  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  remove  the 
objection ;  or  —  if  that  seems  to  them  impossible  —  to  proceed  (as  — 
if  they  are  unconvinced  by  the  adverse  opinion  of  the  Council,  and 
still  feel  bound  in  conscience  to  go  forward  —  they  have  the  right  to 
do)  to  organize  themselves  into  a  Church,  without  the  aid  and  recog- 
nition of  a  Council ;  in  which  case  they  would  remain  an  Independent 
Church,  until  such  time  as  their  neighbor  Congregational  churches 
should  receive  them  into  their  fellowship. 

Section  2.  How  to  choose  and  indmt  Church  officers. 

(1.)  Choice  of  lesser  officers.  As  an  organized  body  cannot  exist 
and  act  without  officers,  it  will  be  the  first  duty  of  the  Church,  after 
its  constitution,  to  elect  those  officers  without  whom  it  cannot  com- 
mence its  proper  work.  A  moderator  is  the  first  necessity,  and  some 
brother  of  age  and  experience  will  naturally  call  the  Church  to  order, 
and  call  for  the  choice  of  such  a  moderator  —  either  by  nomination, 
or  by  ballot ;  counting  and  declaring  the  vote,  after  which  the  elected 
moderator  would  take  his  seat.  The  next  business  would  properly 
be  the  choice  of  a  clerk,  whose  duty  of  record  would  run  back  to 
include  a  brief,  yet  accurate  minute  of  those  preliminary  steps  by 
which  the  formation  of  the  Church  has  been  initiated ;  and  a  treas- 
urer, to  take  charge  of  all  monies  belonging  to  the  body.  The  choice 
of  a  committee  would  naturally  be  next  in  order,  who  should  have  in 
charge  the  whole  matter  of  procuring  a  suitable  place  for  public  wor- 
ship, and  a  minister  to  conduct  that  worship  —  including  conference 
with  the  "  Society,"  (if  one  exists,  or  is  to  be  formed)  or  the  securing 
by  some  other  method,  of  the  amount  that  may  be  needful  to  defray 
the  necessary  expenses  of  worship,  and  of  Church  life.  It  would  be 
well,  also,  for  steps  to  be  immediately  taken  looking  toward  the  elec- 
tion of  two  or  more  Deacons  —  say  the  assignment  of  some  future 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM    WORKS.  167 

day  for  that  election,  at  an  interval  long  enough  to  allow  of  that  prepa^ 
ration  of  thought,  and  prayer,  and  mutual  conference,  so  desirable  be- 
fore action  involving  so  much  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  organ- 
ization. If  deemed  expedient,  an  Examining  Committee  —  to  confer 
with  applicants  for  membership,  make  inquiry  in  regard  to  their 
qualifications,  and  recommend  such  as  seem  to  them  qualified  to  the 
Church  for  admission  —  might  also  be  soon  chosen ;  though  in  small 
churches  it  is  more  usual,  and  perhaps  quite  as  expedient,  for  this 
duty  to  be  done  in  committee  of  the  whole. 

(2.)  Choice  and  induction  of  Deacons.  When  the  occasion  previ- 
ously designated  for  the  duty  has  arrived — the  Church  being  assembled 
with  full  ranks,  and  a  moderator  being  chosen  —  it  would  be  well  for  the 
moderator  —  stating  the  business  assigned  to  the  hour  —  to  read  from 
the  Word  of  God  the  first  seven  verses  of  the  6th  chapter  of  Acts,  the 
six  verses  following  the  seventh  verse  of  the  3d  chapter  of  Paul's  first 
Epistle  to  Timothy,  with  any  other  passages  which  seem  to  be  appro- 
priate to  the  occasion  —  for  wisdom,  and  for  comfort ;  and  then  to  in- 
voke —  or  to  call  upon  some  brother  to  invoke  —  the  special  blessing 
and  direction  of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  upon  them  in  their  per- 
formance of  the  work  to  which  they  are  called ;  that  they  may  choose 
for  their  office-bearers,  good  men,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  faith, 
who  may  not  only  use  the  office  of  a  Deacon  well,  but  by  whom  much 
people  may  be  added  unto  the  Lord. 

Such  an  election  should  always  take  place  by  ballot,  in  order  that 
each  brother  may  be  able  to  indicate  his  real  choice  in  the  freest  pos- 
sible manner.  While  it  is  very  desirable  that  the  result  of  such  a 
balloting  should  be  unanimous,  and  while  few  candidates  would  think 
it  wise  to  accept  such  an  office  by  the  choice  only  of  a  bare  majority, 
it  will  yet  often  happen  that  no  one  person  will  so  concentrate  the 
suffrages  of  all,  as  to  give  him  the  clean  record  of  an.  election  with- 
out any  opposing  vote  —  so  that  to  take  the  ground  that  absolute 
unanimity  is  essential  to  acceptance,  would  often  be  to  keep  the  office 
vacant. 

The  election  having  been  made,  and  the  brother  (or  brethren) 
chosen  having  signified  a  readiness  to  accept  the  trust,  there  may 
appropriately  be  some  formal  entrance  upon  the  office.  The  record 
in  the  Acts  states  that  the  Apostles  prayed,  and  '  laid  their  hands  on ' 
those  who  were  first  chosen  Deacons  in  the  Church  at  Jerusalem. 


168  '  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Some  have  supposed  this  to  involve  a  regular  public  service  of  formal 
ordination.  But  we  think  it  is  clear  ^  that  the  intent  of  that  prece- 
dent will  be  better  followed,  by  a  simple  recognition  of  the  new  offi- 
cer (or  officers)  in  prayer,  at  the  first  communion  season  following  — 
or  on  some  other  suitable  and  convenient  occasion  ;  in  connection  with 
which  public  recognition,  let  the  duties  of  the  office  be  commenced. 

After  the  induction  of  Deacons,  it  will  be  appropriate  for  one  of 
them  to  act  as  the  treasurer  of  the  Church  —  either  with  or  without 
special  designation  to  that  trust ;  inasmuch  as  the  care  of  the  secu- 
larities  of  the  body  inheres  in  their  office. 

It  is  usual  in  many  churches,  also,  for  the  Deacons,  in  the  absence 
of  a  Pastor,  to  preside  over  all  meetings,  according  to  their  seniority 
in  election  —  though  some  churches  prefer  (and  every  Church  —  un- 
less it  deprive  itself  of  the  right,  by  some  standing  rule  which  cannot 
be  set  aside  —  has  always  the  right)  to  elect,  from  the  membership  at 
large,  a  moderator  for  every  business  meeting  at  which  its  Pastor  is 
not  present.  Sometimes  this  right  is  a  very  important  one  to  be  ex- 
ercised, and  it  is  well  always  to  remember  that  by  the  common  law 
of  Congregationalism,  the  Pastor  is  the  only  official  standing  modera- 
tor of  a  Church,  so  that  unless,  by  a  special  statute  of  its  own,  the 
Church  entrust  the  moderatorship  to  the  Deacons,  in  the  Pastor's 
absence,  it  reverts  always  to  the  hands  of  the  body, — which  should 
choose  a  moderator  for  every  meeting,  either  by  nomination,  or  by 
ballot. 

It  is  usual,  moreover,  for  the  Deacons  to  have  the  oversight,  on  the 
part  of  the  Church,  of  the  supply  of  the  pulpit,  in  the  temporary  ab- 
sence of  the  Pastor.  When  there  is  an  Ecclesiastical  Society  con- 
nected with  the  Church,  a  committee  appointed  by  it  might  cooperate 
with  the  Deacons  to  this  end,  and  where  a  new  Pastor  is  to  be  sought, 
the  Church  might  well  appoint  a  special  committee  (upon  which,  how- 
ever, it  would  naturally  place  its  Deacons)  to  act  with  the  Parish 
committee,  in  bringing  about  the  settlement  of  a  suitable  Pastor. 

(3.)  Choice  and  induction  of  a  Pastor.  The  first  public  step 
toward  the  choice  of  a  Pastor  is  usually  a  report  to  the  Church,  by 
the  committee  previously  appointed  to  have  the  matter  in  charge,  of 
the  name  of  some  minister  of  the  Gospel,  who,  in  their  judgment, 


I  See  page  140 ;  also  Tracy's  Report,  in  the  appendix  of  Punchard's  Yiew,  pp.  340-8. 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  1G9 

might  be  obtained,  and  would  be  a  worthy  incumbent  of  the  office. 
Such  report  being  made,  time  enough  should  be  taken  to  allow  all  the 
members  of  the  Church  opportunity  to  make  suitable  inquiry  in  re- 
gard to  the  candidate,  when  —  after  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  for 
the  special  direction  of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  —  the  question 
is  put  to  vote  by  ballot.  The  ballot  may  be  either  ^  yea,'  or  '  nay/ 
upon  the  name  reported  by  the  committee,  or  may  be  by  names  upon 
the  ballots,  in  which  case,  a  negative  vote  for  this  candidate  would  be 
a  positive  vote  for  another.  Perfect  —  or'  sufficient  —  unanimity 
manifesting  itself  in  the  result,  the  next  step  would  be  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  to  make  known  this  vote  to  the  Ecclesiastical 
Society  with  which  the  Church  is  associated  (if  there  be  one),  and  to 
ask  a  concurrent  vote  from  its  members,  fixing  upon  the  yearly  salary 
to  be  offisred  to  the  candidate.  Should  that  Society  concur,  and  vote 
to  offer  the  candidate  a  reasonable  stipend,  and  appoint  a  committee 
to  cooperate  with  the  committee  of  the  Church  in  communicating 
these  facts  to  the  Pastor  elect,  the  next  step  would  be  for  those  com- 
mittees to  forward  to  the  candidate  a  *  call '  to  become  their  Pastor, 
covering  the  votes  passed,  and  urging  his  acceptance  of  the  invitation 
conveyed  in  them,* 

1  The  following  may  suggest  a  proper  fonn  of '  Call.'  Those  portions  marked  in  brackets  are 
to  be  modified  according  to  the  facts  in  the  case,  as  to  whether  the  candidate  has  been  ordained 
or  net,  so  as  to  be  known  as  '  Rev.'  or  merely  as  '  Mr.'  and  is  now  to  be  '  ordained '  or  '  in- 
stalled ; '  and  as  to  whether  there  is  an  Ecclesiastical  Society  acting  with  the  Church,  or  not. 

Bev.  [BIT.  ]  A B . 

Dear  Sir : 

The  undersigned,  on  behalf  of  the  Congregational  Church  of  Christ  in  A [and 

the  Ecclesiastical  Society  connected  therevnth\  beg  leave  respectfully  to  submit  to  your 
consideration  the  following  certified  copies  of  recent  votes  of  that  Church,  [and  Society], 

At  a  regularly  called  meeting  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  A ,  on  the 

day  of it  was  unanimously  [or  state  the  vote] 

Voted,  That  the  Bev.  [Mr.]  A B be  invited  to  become  the  Pastor  and 

Teacher  of  this  Church. 

Voted,  That  Brethren  A B ,  C D ,  and  E F ,  be  a  com- 

mittee  to  communicate  these  votes  to  Bev.  [Mr.  ]  A B ;  to  urge  him  to  comply 

uoith  the  request  which  they  contain ;  and  to  make  all  arrangements  which  may  become 
necessary  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  Church  in  the  premises. 
A  true  copy  of  record. 

(Signed.) 

_  Moderator, 

Scribe. 

[At  a  legal  meeting  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Society  connected  with  the  Congregational 
Church  in  A ,  on  the day  of ,  it  was  unanimously  [or  otherwise] 


170  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Should  the  Society  fail  to  concur,  and  prefer  some  other  candidate, 
the  Church  committee  would  report  that  fact  back,  and  it  would  then 
become  necessary  for  conference  between  the  Church  and  Society, 
and  for  such  modification  of  the  action  of  one,  or  both,  as  the  best 
interests  of  all  should  seem  to  demand. 

Should  there  be  no  Ecclesiastical  Society  in  connection  with  the 
Church,  the  Church  itself  would  vote  what  it  felt  to  be  a  suitable  sal- 
ary to  the  candidate,  should  he  become  their  Pastor,  and  proceed  by 
its  committee  to  forward  the  *  call,'  covering  its  votes,  to  the  Pastor  elect. 

On  receipt  of  his  acceptance,  the  next  step  is  for  the  committee  of 
the  Church  (with  that  of  the  Society  —  if  there  be  a  Society),  in 
conference  with  the  Pastor  elect,  to  agree  upon  the  churches  which 
shall  be  invited  to  meet  in  Council  for  the  purpose  of  the  examination 
of  the  candidate,  and,  if  they  are  satisfied  with  his  character  and 
qualifications,  and  with  the  doings  of  the  people,  of  tendering  the 
fellowship  of  the  churches  in  the  ordination  [or  installation]  service, 


Voted,  That  tjie  Hev.  [Mr.]  A B be  invited  to  become  the  minister  of  this 

people  ; 

Voted,  That,  in  case  of  his  acceptance  of  this  invitation,  ivith  that  extended  by  the 

Church,  this  Society  tvill  pay  Mr.  A J3 the  annual  sum  of dollars,  in 

quarterly  instalments,  on  the  first  days  of  January,  April,  July,  and  October,  in  each 
year,  so  long  a^  the  relation  shall  continue. 

Voted,  That  Mr.  A B be  offered  a  vacation  of weeks,  during  ivhich 

this  Society  will  supply  the  pulpit,  under  the  direction  of  the  Deacons  of  the  Church. 

Voted,  That  Messrs.  G H ,  and  I J ,  be  a  Committee  to  act  with 

the  Committee  of  the  Church  in  this  matter. 

A  true  copy  of  record. 
{Signed.) 

Moderator. 

Clerk.] 

Allow  us,  Dear  Sir,  to  add  to  the  invitation  contained  in  these  votes,  the  expression 
of  our  earnest  hope  that  you  will  feel  it  to  be  the  desire  of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church 
that  you  should  accept  this  call  to  be  our  Pastor,  and  name  an  early  day  for  the  [  Ordi- 
nation] Installation  service. 
Praying  God  to  bless  you,  and  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity, 
We  subscribe  ourselves, 

Yours  in  the  Gospel, 

A B ^ 

C D j   Committee  of 

JE F \-    Church  [and 

Q // Society.] 

[Date,  and  place  of  date.]  I J 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  171 

and  send  out  the  Letter  Missive  to  them.^  These  are  usually  the 
neighboring  Congregational  churches,  adding,  sometimes,  remoter 
churches,  whose  Pastors  it  is  desired  should  perform  some  part  of  the 
public  service  of  the  occasion. 

The  Council  having  assembled  and  organized  itself  by  the  choice 
of  Moderator  and  Scribe,  it  is  then  the  business  of  that  committee  to 
lay  before  it,  (1.)  all  the  records  of  the  Church  relating  to  the  pro- 
posed Pastoral  union ;  (2.)  all  the  records  of  the  Society  (if  there  be 
one)  to  the  same  purport ;  (3.)  all  the  communications  received  from 
the  Pastor  elect,  in  reference  to  the  acceptance  of  their  invitation, 
with  any  other  documentary,  or  other  facts,  bearing  upon  the  matter 
before  the  Council.  If  the  Council  is  satisfied  with  these,  as  being 
regular  and  suitable,  it  will  so  declare  itself  by  vote,  and  proceed 
next  to  examine  the  fitness  of  the  candidate  for  the  place. 

That  examination  will  respect,  (1.)  his  evidence  of  being  in  good 
standmg  in  some  Christian  Church,  and  his  intention  to  become  a 
member  of  the  Church  over  which  it  is  proposed  to  ordain  him  —  if 
he  is  not  already  so;  (2.)  his  evidence  of  approval  to  preach  the 


1  The  following  would  be  an  appropriate  form  for  such  a  Letter  Missive ;  — 
T7ie  Congregational  Church  in  A to  the  Congregational  Church  in  B , 

sendeth  greeting ; 
Dear  Brethren : 

The  Great  Head  of  the  Church  has  hindly  united  us,  and  the  Congregation  statedly 

worshipping  with  us,  in  the  choice  of  Mr.  [Bev.]  A B as  our  Pastor  and 

Teacher,  and  he  has  accepted  our  invitation  to  that  office.  We,  therefore,  affec- 
tionately request  your  attendance  by  your  Pastor  and  a  delegate,  at ,  on  the 

day  of next,  at o'clock  in  the ,  to  examine  the  candidate,  review  our  pro- 
ceedings, and  advise  us  in  reference  to  the  same ;  and  if  judged  expedient,  to  assist  in 
the  Ordination  [Installation]  service. 

Wishing  you  grace,  mercy,  and  peace, 
We  are  fraternally  yours. 


Committee  of 
the  Church. 


[ )   Comviitteeof 

[Date,  and  place  of  date.]  (   the  Society.] 

The  other  Churches  invited  to  this  Council  are  as  follows : 
[Name  them  all  ] 

It  is  proper  also  to  append  to  those  letters  sent  to  churches  whose  Pastors  are  desired  to  take 
part  in  the  public  service,  a  postcript,  notifying  them  of  that  fact  —  that  such  Pastors  may- 
have  suitable  time  for  preparation. 


172  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Gospel,  from  some  customary  body  ;  (3.)  his  evidence  (if  he  has  been 
before  settled  as  a  Pastor)  of  orderly  dismission  from  his  former 
charge,  and  his  commendation  by  the  dismissing  Council  as  a  suitable 
candidate  for  another  settlement ;  (4.)  his  religious  experience,  and 
the  quality  of  motive  which  leads  him  to  the  ministry ;  (5.)  the  suffi- 
ciency of  his  literary  acquisitions,  and  the  Scriptural  soundness  of  his 
theological  faith.  It  is  usual  for  this  examination,  so  far  as  it  involves 
categorical  inquisition,  to  be  mainly  conducted  by  the  Moderator,  but 
to  be  completed  by  the  calling  of  the  roll  of  the  Council,  and  by  giv- 
ing to  each  of  its  clerical  and  lay  members,  the  opportunity  to  ques- 
tion the  candidate. 

This  examination  —  which  is  always  public  —  being  concluded,  the 
Council  vote  "to  be  by  themselves,"  when  the  candidate,  and  the 
committee  calling  the  Council,  should  retire,  with  all  others  not  mem- 
bers—  to  give  opportunity  for  the  fullest  confidential  conference.  Being 
satisfied  upon  all  the  points  before  them,  the  Council  would  so  declare 
itself  by  vete,  and  —  calling  in  the  candidate  and  the  committee  — 
would  proceed,  in  conference  with  them,  to  assign  the  parts  in  the 
public  service;  which  are  usually,  (except  singing),  (1.)  Prelim- 
inary statement  by  the  Moderator,  (2.)  Reading  of  the  Result  of  the 
Council,  by  the  Scribe,  (3.)  Invocation  and  Reading  the  Scriptures, 
(4.)  Sermon,  (5.)  InstaUing  [or  Ordaining]  Prayer,  [with,  or  with- 
out, the  Imposition  of  hands,  as  the  candidate  has,  or  has  not,  been 
settled  before],  (6.)  Right  Hand  of  Fellowship,  (7.)  Charge  to  the 
Pastor,  (8.)  Address  to  the  People,  (9.)  Concluding  Prayer,  (10.)  Ben- 
ediction, by  the  new  Pastor.^ 

The  Church  having  thus  chosen  its  Pastor,  and  ordained  him, 
through  the  fraternal  hands  of  the  delegates  of  its  sister  churches,  he 
is  now  fully  set  over  them  in  the  Lord. 

Section  3.   How  to  transact  the  regular  husinessof  a  Church. 
(1.)    Standing  Rules.     It   is   well   for   every    Church  —  however 


1  It  is  vital  to  the  best  effect  of  a  service  of  this  description  that  each  of  these  parts  should 
be  brief,  and  be  confined  strictly  to  its  own  sphere.  We  have  heard,  for  example,  sermoDS 
■which  included  the  Right  Hand  of  Fellowship  and  Charge,  and  an  Address  to  the  people  ;  and 
Invocations  and  Concluding  Prayers,  both  of  which  invaded  each  other's  province,  and  left  lit- 
tle that  was  special  for  the  prayer  of  Ordination.  Weariness  is  the  inevitable  result.  But  if 
each  is  brief  and  pertinent,  the  general  effect  may  be  admirable. 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISil   WORKS.  173 

small  —  to  adopt  some  few  standing  rules  which  may  give  definite- 
ness  to  its  procedure,  and,  by  pointing  out  beforehand  right  ways  for 
the  performance  of  all  necessary  business,  avoid  that  trouble  which 
sometimes  arises  from  doing  simple  things  in  a  mistaken  manner. 
These  may  sometimes  be  very  few ;  in  other  cases,  the  best  interests 
of  all  concerned  would  be  promoted  by  their  greater  fullness.^ 


1  The  following  are  suggested  as  adapted  to  meet  the  case  of  a  Church  desiring  a  full  and 
careful  code. 

Standing  Rules. 

This  Church  is  Congregational  in  its  recognition  of  the  fellowship  and  fraternity  of  the 
churches,  yet  Independent  in  assuming,  under  Christ  —  after  advice  from  others,  when  desired 
—  the  sole  responsibility  of  its  own  actions.  It  will,  accordingly,  extend  to  sister  churches,  and 
expect  from  them,  that  communion,  council,  and  aid,  which  the  law  of  Christ  demands  ;  while 
it  controls  the  administration  of  its  own  affairs  according  to  its  own  understanding  of  the  word 
of  God     And  to  promote  good  order  in  its  life,  it  adopts  the  following  rules  of  action : — 

1.  The  Pastor  of  this  Church  shall  be  a  member  of  it,  and  shall  be  its  standing  Moderator. 

2  In  the  absence  of  the  Pastor,  or  in  any  case  when  he  may  become  a  party  in  interest  to 
Church  action,  so  as  to  make  it  improper  for  him  to  act  as  moderator,  a  moderator  pro  tempore 
shall  be  chosen  —  by  ballot  when  any  three  brethren  so  request,  otherwise  by  nomination. 

3.  The  annual  meeting  of  the  Church  shall  be  held  in  the  month  of .  on  such  day  as 

the  Pastor  and  Deacons  may  appoint. 

4.  Business  maybe  done  at  the  close  of  any  regular  Church  prayer-meeting ;  and  a  special 
business  meeting  may  be  called  at  any  time,  when  in  the  opinion  of  the  Pastor  and  Deacons,  it 
may  be  expedient ;  and  shall  be  called,  on  the  written  application  to  the  Pastor  —  or,  in  his  ab- 
sence, the  Senior  Deacon  —  of  five  members.  Male  members  of  the  Church  only  are  entitled  to 
vote  upon  the  business  before  it.     Ttn  male  members  shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

0.  Special  business  meetings  shall  always  be  notified  from  the  desk  on  the  Sabbath,  or  by 
written  notice  served  upon  every  resident  member,  at  least  two  days  before  the  time  of  meeting. 

6.  All  meetings  for  business  shall  be  opened  with  prayer. 

7.  At  the  annual  meeting,  the  following  elections  shall  be  made  for  the  ensuing  year  —  all 
officers  to  serve  —  during  good  behavior  —  until  others  shall  be  regularly  chosen  in  their  places. 

(1.)  A  Clerk,*  who  shall  keep  the  records  of  the  Church. 

(2.)  An  Examining  Committee  —  of  which  the  Pastor  and  Deacons  shall  be  ex  officio  mem- 
Tiers,  who  shall  examine  all  applicants  for  admission  to  the  Church,  and  present  to  the  Church 
a  written  report  of  the  names  of  those  whom  they  approve ;  any  candidate  whom  they  may 
not  recommend,  having  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  whole  Church.  This  Committee  shall  also 
act  as  a  Committee  of  preUminary  inquiry  in  regard  to  all  cases  of  discipline,  and  shall  make  a 
report  to  the  Church  of  its  condition,  and  of  their  doings,  with  a  list  of  all  absent  members,  at 
the  annual  meeting. 

(3.)  A  Treasurer,  who  shall  take  charge  of  all  Church  monies,  and  contributions  for  charita- 
ble purposes,  and  make  a  full  written  report  of  the  same  at  the  annual  meeting. 

(4.)  An  Auditor,  who  shall  supervise  the  Treasurer's  annual  account,  and  report  thereon. 

(5.)  A  Committee  of  Collections  for  religious  and  charitable  objects,  whose  duty  it  shall  be 


*  It  is  always  better  that  the  Pai^tor  should  not  be  Clerk  of  his  own  Church.  We  have  seen 
so  many  cases  of  difficulty  arising  from  alleged  falsification  of  the  record,  or  imperfection  in  it, 
at  the  hands  of  a  Pastor,  who  was  Clerk,  and  with  whom  there  was  trouble,  as  to  convince  us 
that  no  Pastor  should  run  into  such  needless  danger.  It  is,  of  course,  often  convenient  for  the 
Pastor  to  have  the  records  "  handy,"  but  that  can  be  secured  by  requiring  the  Clerk  to  keep 
them  where  they  will  be  accessible  to  all  who  need  to  see  them. 


174  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

(2.)  Rales  of  order.     The  best  definition  which  we  know  of  Con- 
gregationalism, as  a  working  system,  is  that  it  is  Christian  common 


—  under  direction  of  the  Church  — to  collect  and  pay  over  to  the  Treasurer  such  gifts  of  the 
Church  and  Congregation  to  benevolent  purposes  as  may  not  be  raised  tlirough  the  contribution- 
box  ;  who  shall  annually  report  their  doings. 

8.  The  order  of  procedure  at  the  annual  meeting  shall  be  as  follows  :  — 

(1.)  Prayer. 

(2.)  Reading  the  record  of  the  last  annual  business  meeting. 

(3.)  Choiceof  the  Clerk  — by  ballot. 

(i.)  Reports  of  the  Treasurer  and  Auditor. 

(5.)  Action  on  these  reports. 

(6.)  Choice  of  the  Treasurer  —  by  ballot. 

(7.)  Choice  of  the  Auditor. 

(8.)  Report  of  the  Examining  Committee. 

(9.)  Action  on  that  report. 

(10.)  Fixing  the  number  of  the  Examining  Committee  for  the  ensuing  year. 

(11.)  Choice  of  Examining  Committee  —  by  ballot. 

(12.)  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Collections. 

(13.)  Action  on  that  report. 

(14  )  Choice  of  Committee  on  Collections. 

(15.)  Deferred  business. 

(16.)  New  business. 

(17.)  Adjournment. 

9.  Candidates  for  admission  shall  be  propounded  before  the  Church  and  Congregation 

weeks  previous  to  their  admission. 

10.  All  persons  admitted  to  the  Church  shall  aifix  to  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  Covenant 
their  full  names  —  in  a  book  to  be  kept  for  that  purpose. 

11.  The  Lord's  Supper  shall  be  observed  on  the Sabbath  of  the  months  of 

in  every  year. 

12.  The  regular  weekly  meeting  of  the  Church  for  prayer  and  conference  shall  be  held  on 
evening ;  and  the evening  last  preceding  each  communion  season  shall  be  spe- 
cially devoted  to  preparation  for  the  proper  reception  of  that  ordinance  ;  and  at  its  close  a  con- 
tribution shall  be  taken  for  Church  expenses,  and  the  relief  of  the  poor,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Deacons. 

13.  The  necessary  expenses  of  the  Pastor  in  attendance  upon  all  Ecclesiastical  Councils,  as  a 
representative  of  the  Church,  shall  be  paid  by  the  Treasurer  from  the  funds  of  the  Church. 

14.  Delegates  to  Ecclesiastical  Councils  shall  make  brief  report  of  their  doings,  and  of  the 
action  of  the  Council,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Church  next  following. 

15.  Members  of  this  Church  removing  elsewhere,  will  be  expected  to  take  letters  of  dismission 
and  recommendation  to  the  Church  with  which  they  worship,  within  one  year  from  the  time 
of  their  change  of  residence,  or  render  reasonable  excuse  for  not  doing  so. 

16.  All  letters  of  dismission  given  by  this  Church  shall  be  valid  six  months  only  from  their 
date ;  and  no  member  who  has  received  such  a  letter  shall  vote  in  business  meetings  of  the 
Church,  except  on  return  of  the  letter. 

17.  Members  of  this  Church  who  have  habitually  absented  themselves  from  its  worship  and 
ordinances  for  one  year,  without  rendering  satisfactory  excuse,  shall  be  debarred  from  voting 
with  the  Church,  so  long  as  such  habitual  absence  continues. 

18.  When  any  officer  of  this  Church  shaU  cease  statedly  to  worship  with  us,  his  office  shall 
be  vacated  from  the  time  of  his  departure. 

19.  When  any  member  of  a  sister  Church  shall  statedly  worship  and  commune  with  this 
Church  for  more  than  one  year,  without  removing  his  relation  to  n?.  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
Examining  Committee  to  notify  the  Church  to  which  he  belongs,  of  that  fact. 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM  WORKS.  175 

sense  applied  to  Church  matters.  And  since  a  Congregational  Church 
is  simply  a  pure  democracy,  those  common  rules  by  which  democratic 
assemblies  are  usually  governed  —  by  which  order  is  maintained, 
and  each  member  quietly  secures  his  full  rights  of  debate,  and  of  de- 
cision —  exactly  apply  to  the  government  of  Congregational  churches 
in  the  doing  of  their  Church  work.  As  differences  of  opinion  some- 
times arise,  however,  when  sudden  points  require  adjustment,  and  an 
unpractised  moderator  may  be  in  the  chair ;  it  may  be  well  briefly  to 
lay  down  here  the  substance  of  those  rules  which  are  most  essential, 
and  whose  strict  observance  will  conduct  any  assembly  to  a  satisfac- 
tory result.^ 

(a.)  Coming  to  order.  If  the  Church  have  a  Pastor,  or  other 
standing  moderator  (by  its  rules),  and  he  is  present;  it  is  his  duty  to 
request  the  Church  to  come  to  order.  If  it  have  none,  or  he  is  ab- 
sent, the  senior  Deacon,  or  some  one  of  the  older  male  members, 
may  call  the  membership  to  order,  and  call  for  the  choice  of  a  mod- 

20.  At  their  first  meeting  after  each  communion  season,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Examining 
Committee  to  examine  all  entries  made  in  the  Church  record  by  the  Clerk,  since  the  Commun- 
ion preceding  the  last,  and,  if  found  correct,  approve  them  ;  an  entry  of  such  approval  to  be 
made  upon  the  record,  signed  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee. 

21.  The  following  shall  be  deemed  the  regular  course  of  procedure  in  all  cases  of  discipline : — 
(1.)  The  brother  offended  or  aggrieved,  should  seek  the  removal  of  the  offence,  in  the  spirit 

of  the  Gospel,  by  fraternal  conference  with  the  offender  alone. 

(2.)  Failing  in  the  removal  of  his  difficulty  thus,  he  should  take  with  hun  one  or  two  judi- 
cious brethren,  and  with  their  mediation,  strive  for  Christian  satisfaction. 

(3.)  This  proving  in  vain,  he  should  bring  the  matter  to  the  notice  of  the  Examining  Commit- 
tee, who  shall  endeavor  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation,  and  who  (if  this  cannot  be  effected,  or 
does  not  result  in  harmony)  shall  prefer  a  formal  complaint  before  the  Church  against  the  of- 
fending brother. 

(4. )  If  the  Church  entertain  the  complaint,  they  shall  appoint  a  time  for  a  hearing  of  the  case, 
and  summon  the  offender  to  be  present  at  that  hearing,  furnishing  him  —  at  least  one  week  be- 
fore the  time  of  the  hearing  —  with  a  copy  of  the  charges  against  him,  together  with  the  names 
of  the  witnesses  who  will  be  relied  on  for  proof. 

(5.;  If,  on  such  hearing,  the  Church  are  satisfied  of  the  guilt  of  the  party  accused,  they  may 
vote  to  admonish  him  publicly,  to  suspend  him  for  some  definite  period  from  the  privileges  of 
the  Church,  or  to  excommunicate  him  from  its  membership  ;  according  to  the  aggravation  of 
the  offence,  and  the  state  of  mind  in  which  he  is. 

(6.)  No  such  vote  of  censure  shall  be  passed,  except  by  the  concurrent  vote  of  two-thirds  of 
the  male  members  present  at  a  regular  meeting. 

(7.)  In  case  of  the  excommunication  of  any  member,  public  notice  shall  be  given  of  the  fact. 

22.  No  alteration  shall  be  made  in  the  foregoing  rules,  unless  at  a  regular  meeting  of  the 
Church,  after  notice  of  the  proposed  change  at  a  previous  regular  meeting,  and  by  vote  of 
three-fourths  oi  the  members  present.  This  rule  shall  not,  however,  be  so  construed,  as  to  for- 
bid the  temporary  suspension  of  any  rule,  when  the  Church  shall  see  fit  unanimously  to  order 
Buch  suspension. 

1  So  far  as  any  manual  has  been  referred  to  in  this  connection,  it  is  Cushing's  well-knovra 
Manual  of  PaThamentary  Debate. 


176  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

erator,  in  the  usual  manner.  On  his  election,  the  moderator  will 
take  the  chair,  and  inquire  il  the  standing  Clerk  be  present ;  if  not. 
a  Clerk  'pro  tempore  should  next  be  chosen,  to  insure  proper  record 
of  all  business  done.  The  moderator  will  then  entertain  an'^  put 
all  motions,  decide  all  questions  of  order,  announce  all  votes,  and,  in 
a  word,  preside  over  the  meeting. 

(6.)  Motions.  Every  item  of  business  should  be  introduced  in  the 
form  of  a  motion  ;  which  is  simply  a  proposal  to  proceed  to  the  doing 
of  tliat  business — put  into  a  succinct  and  suitable  form  of  words.  All 
such  motions,  and  all  remarks  upon  them,  should  be  addressed  to  the 
moderator.  If  a  member  wishes  the  Church  to  do  any  particular 
thing,  he  should,  therefore,  move  that  the  Church  do  that  thing,  ^ny 
member  has  a  right  to  make  any  motion,  not  against  the  rules,  but, 
to  protect  the  Church  from  having  its  time  wasted  upon  foolish  and 
impertinent  propositions,  it  is  required  that  every  motion  be  seconded 
—  so  as  to  be  endorsed  by  two  responsible  parties  —  before  it  can 
claim  discussion  and  decision.  After  having  made  his  motion,  and  it 
has  been  seconded,  the  mover  will  naturally  proceed  to  set  forth  such 
reasons  as  prevail  with  him  to  decide  that  it  is  expedient  tor  the 
Church  to  follow  the  course  suggested  by  him.  Others  may  follow, 
in  approval  or  condemnation  of  his  view.  All  must  discuss  only  the 
specific  question  that  awaits  their  decision  in  that  motion.  If  any 
speaker  wanders  to  disconnected  subjects,  or  it  members  interrupt 
each  other,  or  violate  the  rules  of  courteous  debate,  it  is  the  business 
of  the  moderator  to  call  them  to  order,  for  so  doing.  The  proper 
time  —  unless  some  specialty  (like  the  assignment  of  a  fixed  hour  to 
close  the  debate,  or  something  of  that  sort)  interpose  itselt  to  modify 
the  case  —  to  take  the  vote  upon  the  question  under  discussion,  is 
when  all  who  desire  to  say  any  thing,  lor  or  against  it,  have  spoken, 
and  thus  the  debate  has  closed  itself. 

Any  member  has  always  the  right  to  demand  that  any  motion  be 
reduced  to  writing,  by  its  mover,  for  more  definite  understanding. 
The  moderator  is  obliged  to  put  all  motions  to  vote  —  however  dis- 
tasteful they  may  be  to  himself,  personally  —  unless  they  are  clearly 
against  the  standing  rules  of  the  Church,  or  the  common  law  of  de- 
liberative bodies.^    No  new  motion  can  be  entertained  while  one  is 


1  Moderators  — especially  if  they  are  Pastors,  in  times  of  trouble  and  excitement  —  SOTae- 
times  assiime  a  right  to  veto  Church  action,  to  embarrass  the  movements  of  the  Church,  to 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  177 

yet  under  debate,  except  it  be  of  the  nature  of  an  amendment  to  it, 
or  what  is  called  a  privileged  motion ;  and  no  speaking  is  in  order  in 
a  business  meeting  that  is  not  upon  some  motion  previously  made,  re- 
maining undecided,  except  that  a  member  who  is  about  to  make  a 
motion,  may  preface  it  with  an  explanation. 

(c.)  Amendments.  Any  proposition  to  modify  the  motion  which  is 
under  discussion,  by  striking  out  words  from  it,  or  by  adding  words 
to  it,  or  both,  in  order  to  bring  it  more  nearly  into  harmony  with  the 
views  of  the  membership,  is  always  in  order,  except  when  some  privi- 
leged question  is  interposed,  or  when  its  insertion  would  too  much 
complicate  the  question.  The  former  bar  will  soon  be  considered. 
The  latter  is  easily  explained.  An  amendment  to  a  simple  motion  is 
in  order.  So  is  an  amendment  to  that  amendment.  But  there  the  direct 
right  to  amend  ceases,  since  an  amendment  to  an  amendment  to  an 
amendment,  would  so  pile  questions  upon  each  other,  as  to  lead  to 
confusion.  The  line  must  be  drawn  somewhere,  and,  by  common 
consent  of  legislative  bodies,  it  has  been  drawn  here.  If  it  is  desired 
to  amend  the  amendment  of  an  amendment,  it  must  be  done  indirectly, 
by  voting  down  the  proposed  amendment  to  the  amendment,  and  then 
moving  the  new  proposition  in  its  place,  as  a  new  amendment  to  the 


refuse  to  put  motions  which  are  distasteful  to  themselves,  or  even  to  adjourn  the  meeting  at 
their  pleasure,  or  declare  it  adjourned  at  the  call  of  some  friend  for  such  adjournment,  without 
putting  the  vote  to  the  test  of  the  '  contrary  minds  '  All  this  is  an  absurd  and  wholly  inexcu- 
sable violation  of  the  proprieties  of  the  case.  The  moderator  —  and  if  he  is  moderator  in  virtue 
of  being  Pastor,  it  makes  no  difference  —  derives  all  his  power  from  the  body  over  which  he 
presides,  and  he  has  no  more  right  than  any  other  individual,  to  interfere  with  the  due  course 
of  business.  His  duty  cannot  be  better  condensed  than  it  has  been  by  the  standard  writer  on 
parliamentary  usage  (Cushing's  Manual^  Sec  27),  viz:  "to  represent  and  stand  for  the  As- 
sembly—  declaring  its  will,  and.,  in  all  things,  obeying,  implicitly,  its  commands,'''' 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  what  ought  a  moderator  to  do,  in  case  he  should  see  the  course  of 
Church  action  going  —  in  his  judgment  —  wholly  wrong,  even  to  that  extent  that  it  is  likely  to 
commit  hiin  to  what  will  be  against  his  conscience  ?  The  answer  is  easy.  Let  him  explain,  as 
clearly  as  he  can,  to  the  body,  the  wrong  they  are  about  to  do  ;  if  that  is  not  enough,  let  him 
Bolemnly  protest  against  it,  and  even  —  if,  in  his  judgment,  the  gravity  of  the  case  calls  for  so 
extreme  a  course  —  let  him  retire  respectfully  from  the  chair,  leaving  it  to  be  filled  by  the 
choice  of  another  moderator  by  the  Church.  This  wiU  clear  his  skirts  of  compUcity  with  the 
result,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  preserves  the  rights  of  the  Church,  and  the  good  order  of  the 
whole  transaction  ;  while  it  cannot  help  being  much  more  effectual  in  its  tendency  to  restrain 
the  body  from  rushing  to  any  wrong  result,  than  any  arbitrary  and  unwarrantable  interference, 
of  the  nature  of  an  attempted  veto,  or  an  enforced  adjournment ;  which  must  almost  certainly 
react  to  confirm  the  majority  in  their  ill  judgment.  There  is  absolutely  no  justification  in 
Congregational  usage,  or  in  common  sense,  for  that  ministerial  folly  which  seeks  to  '  lord  it 
over  God's  heritage,'  by  assuming  to  veto  Church  votes,  or  to  adjourn  Church  meetings,  or 
arbitrarily  to  dictate,  in  any  manner,  to  a  Church,  the  course  it  should  pursue. 

12 


178  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

amendment.  In  this  case,  he  who  desires  to  move  such  new  amend- 
ment in  place  of  the  one  before  the  meeting,  may  give  notice  that  if 
the  amendment  to  the  amendment  on  which  the  question  now  rests 
shall  be  voted  down,  he  will  move  this  new  proposition  in  its  place, 
—  thus  enabling  members  to  vote  understandingly. 

Any  amendment  must  be  '  seconded,'  like  an  original  motion,  before 
it  can  claim  the  consideration  of  the  assembly.  It  is  usual,  however, 
where  the  mover  and  seconder  of  the  original  motion,  or  of  an  amend- 
ment which  an  amendment  is  proposed  to  modify,  *  accepts '  the  new 
amendment,  for  it  to  be  quietly  incorporated — without  vote  —  into 
the  question  as  it  stands,  awaiting  decision. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  an  amendment  should  be  cordial  in  its  tone 
toward  the  proposition  which  it  proposes  to  amend.  It  has  long  been 
considered  allowable,  by  parliamentary  usage,  to  propose  to  amend  a 
motion  in  a  manner  that  would  so  entirely  alter  its  nature,  as  to  com- 
pel its  friends  to  vote  against  it,  should  it  be  so  amended ;  or  to  amend 
it  by  striking  out  all  after  the  words  "  Resolved  that,"  or  "  Voted 
that,"  and  inserting  a  proposition  of  a  wholly  different  tenor.^ 

An  amendment  —  or  an  original  motion  —  that  has  been  regularly 
made,  seconded,  and  proposed  from  the  chair,  is  thereby  put  into  the 
possession  of  the  assembly,  and  cannot  be  withdrawn  by  the  mover, 
except  by  general  consent,  or  by  a  vote  giving  him  leave  so  to  do. 

The  motions  for  the  "  previous  question,"  and  "  to  lie  on  the  table," 
cannot  be  amended,  because  their  nature  does  not  admit  of  any  change. 

(d.)  Privileged  motions  Tliere  are  certain  motions  which,  on  ac- 
count of  their  superior  importance,  are  entitled  to  supplant  any  other 
motion  that  may  be  under  consideration,  so  as  to  be  first  acted  on,  and 
decided,  by  the  body ;  and  which  may,  therefore,  be  made  at  any  time. 
Privileged  motions  in  a  Church  meeting,  would  be  the  following :  — 


1  In  the  House  of  Commons,  April  10, 1744,  a  resolution  was  moved,  declaring  "  that  the  is- 
suing and  paying  to  the  Duke  of  Aremberg  the  sum  of  £40,000  to  put  the  Austrian  troops  in 
motion,  in  the  year  1742,  was  a  dangerous  misapplication  of  public  money,  and  destructive  of 
the  rights  of  Parliament."  The  object  of  the  motion,  of  course,  was  to  censure  the  British 
ministry.  Their  friends  being  in  a  majority  in  the  House,  preferred  —  instead  of  voting  the 
proposition  down  —  to  turn  it  into  a  direct  resolution  of  approval  of  the  course  referred  to  ;  and 
they  accordingly  moved  to  amend,  by  leaving  out  the  words  "a  dangerous  misappUcation," 
etc.,  to  the  end,  and  inserting,  instead,  the  words  "necessary  for  putting  the  said  troops  in 
motion,  and  of  great  consequence  to  the  common  cause  "  This  amendment  was  adopted,  and 
the  motion  as  amended  was  passed  — in  a  form  the  precise  opposite,  in  sense,  of  its  mover's 
design  — See  Gushing^  p.  76. 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM    WORKS.  179 

(aa.)  The  previous  question.  The  object  of  this  motion  is  to  bring 
debate  upon  the  motion  mider  consideration  to  an  end  —  if  com- 
menced —  or  to  suppress  it  altogether.  It  cannot  itself  be  debated. 
Its  form  is,  "  shall  the  main  question  be  now  put  ?  "  If  decided  in  the 
negative,  debate  may  be  resumed.  If  decided  affirmatively,  the  ques- 
tion before  the  body  must  be  put  to  an  immediate  vote. 

(bb.)  The  motion  to  withdraw  the  question  under  discussion,  by  its 
mover.  When  the  mover  of  a  question  wishes  to  withdraw  it,  for  any 
reason,  and  has  asked  —  but  failed  to  obtain  —  the  general  consent  to 
do  so,  he  may  move  for  leave  to  withdraw  it,  and  his  motion  will  take 
precedence  of  the  question  itself.    It  may  itself,  however,  be  debated. 

(cc.)  TTie  motion  to  lay  on  the  table.  The  object  of  this,  is  to  lay 
aside  the  subject  to  which  it  is  applied,  for  the  present ;  leaving  it 
where  it  may  be  brought  up  for  consideration  at  any  convenient  time. 
It  is  itself  debatable. 

{dd.)  The  motion  to  commit  the  question  to  a  committee.  The 
object  of  this  is  to  obtain  more  light  upon  the  question ;  to  amend  its 
form,  if  defective ;  to  incorporate  additional  provisions,  if  needful ; 
and  in  general,  to  put  into  a  form  more  satisfactory  than  its  present. 
It  may  be  committed  with,  or  without,  instructions  to  the  committee, 
as  to  the  precise  manner  in  which  their  function  shall  be  discharged. 
This  motion  may  be  debated. 

(ee.)  The  motion  to  postpone  to  a  Jixed  time.  The  object  of  this 
motion  is  to  gain  time  for  all  the  delay  that  may  be  desired  for  more 
light  upon  the  question,  or  for  any  other  reason,  yet  to  fix  the  date 
when  the  subject  shall  recur.     This  motion  may  be  debated. 

{ff.)  The  motion  to  postpone  indefinitely.  The  object  of  this  mo- 
tion is  to  suppress  the  question  to  which  it  is  applied,  without  com- 
mitting the  body  to  it  by  direct  vot«.  If  negatiyed,  the  matter  stands 
where  it  stood  before  it  was  proposed.  If  carried,  the  effect  is  to  quash 
entirely  the  motion  so  postponed.    This  motion  may  be  itself  debated. 

{gg.)  The  motion  to  adjourn.  This  motion  is  always  in  order, 
except  when  a  member  is  speaking  —  when  no  motion  can  be  made 
without  his  consent,  and  no  interruption  is  to  be  tolerated,  except  a 
valid  call  to  order  (if  the  speaker  is  out  of  order  in  his  remarks),  the 
adjustment  of  which  gives  him  the  floor  again.  The  motion  to  adjourn, 
in  its  simple  form,  takes  precedence  of  all  others.  If  no  motion  is  be- 
fore the  body  when  the  motion  to  adjourn  is  made,  it  is  susceptible  of 


180  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

amendment,  like  other  questions.  But  if  it  is  itself  made  with  a  view 
to  supersede  some  question  before  the  body,  it  cannot  be  itself  amended. 
It  is  then  imdebatable. 

The  effect  of  the  adoption  of  a  simple  motion  to  adjourn,  in  the 
case  of  a  body  not  holding  regular  sessions  from  day  to  day,  would  be 
equivalent  to  a  dissolution.  Otherwise  it  would  adjourn  the  body  to  the 
next  regular  sitting  day.  In  either  case,  the  previous  adoption  of  a 
resolution  that  "  when  the  body  adjourn,  it  adjourn  to  some  other  fu- 
ture time  fixed,"  would  modify  the  case.  But  the  motion  to  adjourn 
to  some  future  time  fixed,  is  not  a  privileged  question. 

An  adjourned  meeting  is  a  continuation  of  the  previous  meeting  — 
legally  the  same  meeting  —  so  that  the  same  officers  hold  over. 
When  a  question  has  been  interrupted,  however,  while  under  discus- 
sion, and  before  a  vote  has  been  taken  upon  it,  by  a  motion  to  adjourn, 
the  vote  to  adjourn  takes  it  from  before  the  meeting,  so  that  it  will 
not  be  under  consideration  at  the  adjourned  meeting,  unless  brought 
up  afresh. 

(e.)  Voting.  When  a  motion  has  been  made  and  seconded,  if  no 
alteration  is  proposed,  or  it  admits  of  none,  or  has  been  amended,  and 
the  debate  upon  it  appears  to  have  reached  its  close,  the  presiding 
officer  inquires  whether  the  body  is  "  ready  for  the  question  ?  "  Such 
being  the  fact,  he  should  then  clearly  restate  that  question,  so  that  no 
member  can  possibly  fail  to  understand  it,  and  then  say,  "  as  many  of 
you  as  are  in  favor  of  the  passage  of  this  motion,  will  please  say  aye," 
[or  hold  up  the  right  hand] ;  then  "  as  many  of  you  as  are  of  the 
contrary  opinion  will  please  to  say  ?zo,"  [or  hold  up  the  right  hand]. 
Then,  judging  the  quality  of  the  vote  by  eye  and  ear,  he  should  an- 
nounce it  accordingly,  "  the  ayes  have  it,"  or  "  the  noes  have  it,"  — 
or  by  some  equivalent  phraseology  —  as  the  case  may  be.  If  members 
are  equally  divided,  the  presiding  officer  has  the  right  to  give  his 
casting  vote,  but  is  not  obliged  to  do  so.  If  he  does  not  vote,  the 
motion  does  not  prevail. 

When  the  vote  is  declared,  any  member  who  thinks  the  moderator 
to  be  in  error,  has  the  right  immediately  to  demand  that  the  vote  be 
taken  again,  by  saying  "  I  doubt  the  vote."  It  must  then  be  put 
again,  and  the  votes  carefully  counted.  Where  excitement  exists, 
and  the  vote  is  close,  it  is  sometimes  well  for  the  moderator  to  appoint 
a  teller  from  each  party,  to  count  and  report  the  vote. 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM    WORKS.  181 

Debate  may  be  renewed — unless  ^  the  previous  question '  has  been 
voted  —  at  any  stage  before  the  negative  vote  is  called  for — in  any 
form  of  voting  where  the  affirmative  is  first  taken.  But  if  debate 
should  be  reopened  after  the  affirmative  has  been  called,  in  whole  or 
in  part,  the  affirmative  vote  must  be  taken  over  again  when  debate 
has  again  ceased.  In  taking  the  yeas  and  nays,  where  both  affirma- 
tive and  negative  are  called  together,  debate  is  not  in  order  after  the 
call  has  been  commenced. 

In  voting,  the  motion  last  made  is  always  the  one  for  decision,  so 
that  when  an  amendment  has  been  offered  to  an  amendment,  the  order 
of  voting  on  them  will  be  the  reverse  of  the  order  in  which  they  were 
presented.  If  several  sums  are  proposed,  the  question  is  put  with 
regard  to  the  largest,  first ;  if  several  times,  the  longest. 

(/.)  Reconsideration.  Although  it  is  a  fundamental  article  of 
parliamentary  law,  that  a  question  once  settled  by  a  body,  remains 
settled,  and  cannot  be  again  brought  into  judgment  before  the  same 
body ;  yet,  as  a  means  of  relief  from  embarrassment,  or  to  enable  ad- 
vantage to  be  taken  of  some  new  light  upon  the  matter,  it  has  now 
become  a  well  settled  principle  that  a  vote  once  passed  may  be  recon- 
sidered. Where  no  special  rule  regulates  the  matter,  a  motion  to 
reconsider  a  vote  once  passed,  may  be  made,  and  seconded,  and  con- 
sidered, and  acted  upon,  in  the  same  way  as  any  other  motion.  It  is 
usual  in  legislative  bodies,  however,  to  limit  the  conditions  of  this 
motion  so  far,  at  least,  as  to  require  that  it  shall  be  made  by  some 
one  who  voted  with  the  majority,  on  the  question ;  sometimes,  also,  it 
is  made  essential  that  as  many  members  shall  be  present,  as  were 
present  when  the  vote  was  passed. 

The  effect  of  the  passage  of  a  motion  to  reconsider  a  vote,  is  not  to 
reverse  that  vote,  but  simply  to  annul  its  adoption,  so  that  the  motion 
comes  back  under  discussion  again,  and  is  the  motion  before  the  body 
requiring  disposal  first  of  all  —  the  whole  matter  standing  where  it 
did  before  any  vote  at  all  was  taken  on  it. 

{9)  Questions  of  Order.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  moderator  to  en- 
force the  rules  of  the  body,  or,  if  it  have  no  special  rules  of  order,  to 
enforce  those  which  commonly  govern  similar  bodies.  If  any  mem- 
ber interrupts  another  while  speaking ;  or  proposes  a  motion  that  is 
out  of  order ;  or  insists  on  debating  an  undebatable  question  ;  or 
wanders  from  the  matter  in  hand  into  irrelevances,  or  impertinences,  or 


182  CONGREGATIONALISM.  * 

personalities,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  moderator,  and  the  right  of  any  mem- 
ber, immediately  to  call  him  to  order.  Should  any  question  of  fact  as  to 
whether  any  given  conduct  is  out  of  order,  arise,  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
moderator  to  decide  the  question,  and  to  enforce  his  decision.  If  any 
member,  however,  thinks  his  decision  incorrect,  he  may  object  to  it, 
and  appeal  the  matter  to  the  assembly.  The  moderator  would  then 
state  this  as  the  question :  "  shall  the  decision  of  the  chair  be  sus- 
tained?" This  question  may  then  be  debated  and  decided  by  the 
assembly,  in  the  same  manner  as  any  other,  only  that  the  moderator 
here  has  the  unusual  right  to  share  in  the  debate ;  the  decision  of  the 
body  being  final. 

(Ji.)  Committees.  It  is  very  often  a  matter  of  convenience  to  place 
business  in  the  hands  of  a  select  number  of  hidividuals  to  be,  by  them, 
conducted  through  its  preliminary  stages.  Much  time  may  thus  be 
saved,  and  information  may  often  be  obtained,  and  action  initiated, 
with  more  ease  and  freedom  than  would  be  possible,  if  the  work  were 
undertaken  by  the  whole  body. 

{aa.)  Special  Committees.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  after  the  vote 
to  refer  any  matter  to  a  special  committee,  is  to  fix  upon  the  number  ; 
which  is  usually  three,  five,  seven,  or  some  odd  number  —  to  ensure 
a  majority  in  case  of  difference  of  opinion  among  its  members.  The 
number  being  fixed,  there  are  four  modes  of  selecting  the  individuals 
who  shall  compose  it:  (1.)  by  ballot;  (2.)  by  nomination  from  a 
nominating  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose  by  the  chair ; 
(3.)  by  direct  nomination  from  the  chair ;  (4.)  by  nomination  from 
the  membership  at  large  —  all  such  nominations  requiring  a  con- 
firmatory vote  from  the  body.  The  first  named  member  usually  acts 
as  chairman  of  the  committee;  though  every  committee  has,  if  it 
please  to  exercise  it,  the  right  to  select  its  own  chairman. 

{bh.)  Standing  Committees.  These  are  yearly  appointed  to  meet 
certain  constantly  occurring  necessities  —  usually  by  ballot. 

(cc.)  Committee  of  the  whole.  It  is  sometimes  a  convenience  for 
the  whole  body  to  release  itself,  for  the  time  being,  from  those  strict 
rules  which  govern  its  ordinary  debates,  so  as  to  discuss  some  topic 
before  it,  in  the  freest  and  fullest  informal  manner.  It  then  —  on  mo- 
tion made,  seconded,  and  carried  —  resolves  itself  into  a  committee  of 
the  whole ;  when  the  Moderator  nominates  some  member  as  Chair- 
man and  retires,  himself,  to  the  floor.     The  main  points  in  which 


HOW    CONGEEGATIONALISM   WORKS. 

procedure  in  committee  of  the  whole  differs  from  the  ordinary  routine 
of  the  assembly  are,  (1.)  the  previous  question  cannot  be  moved ; 
(2.)  the  committee  cannot  adjourn,  as  a  committee,  to  another  time 
and  place,  but  must  report  its  unfinished  procedure  to  the  body,  and 
ask  leave  to  sit  again  ;  (3.)  every  member  has  the  right  to  speak  as 
often  as  he  can  obtain  the  floor ;  (4.)  the  committee  of  the  whole 
cannot  refer  any  thing  to  a  sub-committee ;  (5.)  the  presiding  officer 
can  take  part  in  the  debate  and  procedure,  hke  any  other  member. 
When  the  committee  of  the  whole  have  gone  through  with  their 
work,  they  vote  to  rise,  the  moderator  of  the  body  resumes  his  seat, 
and  the  chairman  of  the  late  committee  of  the  whole  makes  report  of 
its  doings. 

(/.)  Reports.  When  any  committee  presents  a  report,  the  vote  to 
accept  it,  takes  it  out  of  the  hands  of  the  committee,  and  places  it 
upon  the  table  of  the  body — where  it  can  be  called  up,  at  any  time, 
for  further  action — and  discharges  the  committee.  When  the  report  is 
taken  from  the  table  and  considered,  it  may  be  rejected,  re-committed, 
(to  the  same,  or  to  a  new  committee  —  with,  or  without  instructions) 
or  adopted.  Its  adoption  makes  whatever  propositions  it  may  con- 
tain, the  judgment  and  act  of  the  body  ;  and  it  would  often  be  better 
(because  more  perspicuous)  to  bring  the  matter  directly  to  a  vote 
upon  those  propositions ;  rather  than  to  reach  the  same  result  indirect- 
ly, upon  the  question  of '  adoption.' 

(J.)  Closing  a  meeting.  Business  being  completed,  the  moderator 
may  call  for  a  motion  of  adjournment,  or  of  dissolution  —  which  is 
better,  where  the  same  meeting  is  not  to  be  continued.  "  Adjournment 
sine  die,''  is,  strictly,  a  contradiction  in  terms.  If  a  vote  has  previously 
been  passed,  that,  at  a  given  hour,  the  body  shall  be  adjourned  to 
some  future  time  fixed ;  the  moderator,  on  the  arrival  of  that  hour, 
would  pronounce  the  meeting  adjourned,  in  accordance  with  the  terms 
of  the  vote. 

(3.)  Admitting  members.  It  is  usual  for  a  Church  to  fix  some 
regular  seasons  for  attention  to  requests  for  admission  by  persons  de- 
siring to  become  members.  Some  churches  which  are  small  in  num- 
bers, and  situated  in  a  sparse  population  where  additions  are  infrequent, 
leave  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  the  pastor  to  request  them  to  re- 
main after  any  Preparatory  Lecture  when  a  candidate  may  desire 
examination.     The  proper  course  then,  is,  for  the  candidate  to  make 


184  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

known  his  desire  to  the  Pastor,  who  —  if,  on  inquiry,  he  is  satisfied 
of  the  probable  fitness  of  the  applicant  —  will  request  the  Church 
(sometimes  merely  the  male  members,  but  usually  all)  to  remain  after 
the  next  Lecture,  or  appoint  a  special  meeting  for  the  purpose ;  when 
the  application  is  made,  and  the  examination  is  conducted  by  the 
Pastor  in  presence  of  all,  any  member  having  the  right  to  interpose 
an  inquiry  at  any  point.  The  candidate  retiring,  the  question  is  then 
put,  whether  he  shall  be  "  propounded  for  admission  ? "  If  this  is 
carried,  the  candidate's  name  is  announced  to  the  congregation,  two 
weeks,  or  more,  before  the  date  of  intended  admission,  so  that  if 
any  person  has  complaint  to  make,  affecting  his  Christian  character, 
there  may  be  seasonable  opportunity  to  lay  it  before  the  Church. 
No  such  objection  being  made,  the  final  question  of  his  admission 
comes  before  the  Church,  usually  at  the  close  of  the  next  Preparatory 
Lecture,  when  a  majority  vote  will  admit  him  —  which  vote  is,  how- 
ever, usually  unanimous,  because  if  any  member  has  any  good  ground 
of  objection,  it  has  been  mentioned,  and  had  its  due  weight  before- 
hand. 

Larger  churches,  and  churches  where  requests  for  admission  are 
more  frequent,  and  in  communities  where  a  more  thorough  examina- 
tion is  sometimes  expedient  than  can  well  be  managed  before  the 
whole  Church,  usually  find  it  most  expedient  to  depute  these  pre- 
liminaries to  an  "  Examining  Committee."  notice  of  whose  regular 
meetings  is  publicly  given.  Candidates  then  present  themselves  be- 
fore that  Committee,  who  examine  them  —  sometimes  appointing  a 
sub-committee  to  make  special  and  rigid  inquiry  in  doubtful  cases  — 
and  who  report  to  the  Church  the  names  of  such  candidates  as  they 
are  prepared  to  recommend  for  admission.  These  candidates  are 
then  propounded — usually  without  a  vote  to  that  effect  by  the  Church 
(the  vote  in  committee  being  equivalent,  in  effect,  to  the  vote  to  pro- 
pound where  the  whole  Church  examine)  ;  and  at  the  close  of  the 
Preparatory  Lecture,  or  at  some  other  regular  time,  the  question  of 
the  admission  of  the  propounded  candidates  is  put  to  the  vote  of  the 
whole  Church. 

Candidates  bringing  letters  from  other  churches  are  of^en  examined 
—  though  hardly  so  rigidly  as  others  —  for  admission  ;  nor  is  such 
examination  considered  any  token  of  disrespect,  or  hint  of  unsound- 
ness in  the  faith,  toward  the  sister  Church  whose  letters  of  dismission 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  185 

and  recommendation  they  bear.  It  is  sometimes  made  specially  im- 
portant, by  the  length  of  time  that  has  elapsed  since  the  dismissing 
Church  has  had  direct  cognizance  of  the  Christian  walk  of  the  party 
to  the  letter  —  by  reason  of  his  long  absence  from  its  direct  watcli 
and  care. 

The  public  admission  of  members  who  have  been  received  by  vote, 
usually  takes  place  just  before  the  Communion  service,  when  the  new 
members  range  themselves  before  the  pulpit,  and  give  their  public 
assent  to  the  Articles  of  Faith  and  Covenant,  as  they  are  read  by 
the  Pastor.  Baptism  is  usually  administered  to  those  who  have  not 
received  it,  after  the  reading  of  the  Articles,  and  before  assent  is 
given  to  the  Covenant.  The  signature  of  every  new  member  to  the 
Articles  and  Covenant  in  the  book  kept  for  that  purpose,  should  fol- 
low, at  the  first  convenient  moment.  Some  Pastors  make  a  brief 
address,  and  give  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  to  new  members,  as  a 
part  of  the  public  service  of  their  admission. 

(4.)  Dismissing  members.  When  members  remove  their  residence 
to  the  nearer  neighborhood  of  a  sister  Church,  or  when,  for  any  good 
reason,  it  seems  to  them  expedient  to  transfer  their  regular  attendance 
to  the  ministrations  and  worship  of  a  sister  Church,  they  ought  to 
ask,  and  the  Church  ought  to  grant  them,  letters  of  dismission  and 
recommendation.^     It  is  well   that   this  request   should  be  in  writ- 


1  It  is  evidently  —  as  a  rule  —  better  for  a  Christian  to  be  in  direct  fellowship  with  the  Church 
■with  which  he  statedly  worships,  and  so  under  its  immediate  watch  and  care.  He  will  not 
only  Le  more  careful  in  his  walk  and  conversation,  but  he  will  feel  more  at  home,  and  so  both 
do,  and  enjoy  more.  It  is  always  a  bad  sign  when  such  a  professor  hangs  ofif  from  the  removal 
of  his  Church  relation,  and  makes  excuses  —  that  '  he  has  n't  made  up  his  mind  how  long  he 
shall  stay  ; '  '  he  may  return  to  his  old  home.'  etc.  His  heart  is  either  very  cold,  or  he  is  afraid 
to  risk  that  attention  to  his  actual  character  which  his  request  for  a  letter  would  draw  after  it, 
at  both  his  old  and  new  home,  or  he  grievously  over-estimates  the  trouble  of  the  transfer. 
When,  then,  an  absent  member  has  so  far  overcome  the  temptation  to  '  keep  dark,'  as  a  Chris- 
tian in  his  new  home,  as  to  write  for  a  letter  of  dismission  ;  his  Church  ought,  by  all  means,  to 
encourage  the  removal  of  his  relation.  Grant  that  they  fear  that  his  Christian  character  has  been 
in  eclipse,  and  has  failed  to  honor  the  Saviour ;  his  very  request  is  an  encouraging  sign  of  a 
reawakened  conscience;  and  —  at  all  events  — his  recovery  to  a  consistent  and  earnest  walk 
with  God,  will  be  more  likely  under  the  proposed  new  relation,  than  in  the  mere  formal  con- 
tinuance of  the  old.  Unless,  then  —  as  we  have  said  above  —  some  charge  is  on  the  table  affect- 
ing his  Christian  character,  and  involving  a  process  of  discipline  —  it  is  usually  best  that  his 
request  should  be  complied  with.  In  fact  such  a  member  has  a  right  to  claim  to  be  either  dis- 
ciplined, or  dismissed,  as  —  technically  —  in  "  good  and  regular  standing ;  "  which  means  sim- 
ply that  he  is  a  member  against  whom  no  charge  of  unchristian  conduct  is  made. 

That  is  a  very  weak-minded  error  into  which  some  churches  —  in  both  city  and  country  — 
nave  been  led,  of  disfavoring  the  desire  of  absent  members  to  be  dismissed,  because  such  dis- 


186  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

ing.^  On  its  reception,  the  Pastor  will  read  it  to  the  Church,  at  the 
first  meeting  when  business  is  in  order,  when  —  if  no  charge  is  before 
the  Church,  affecting  the  Christian  character  of  the  applicant,  and  no 
reason  is  known  why  the  request  is  not  a  proper  one  —  some  brother 
usually  moves  (and  another  seconds  it)  that  the  request  be  granted. 
If  this  motion  pass,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Church 
immediately  to  fill  out  a  letter  of  dismission  and  recommendation  in 
some  ordinary  form,  and  forward  it  to  the  party  to  whom  it  has  been 
granted.^ 


mission  would  reduce  the  numbers  of  the  Church,  and  so  detract  from  its  apparent  consequence 
in  the  annual  statistical  returns!  If  the  annual  report  of  more  Church  members,  by  a  large 
fraction,  than  the  average  number  of  its  Sabbath  congregation,  does  not  involve  a  Church  —  or 
its  Pastor  —  in  some  sort  of  false  pretence  ;  there  must  be  a  very  curious  and  abnormal  state 
of  things  in  that  community  I 

1  This  would  be  a  suitable  form  for  such  a  request : 
To  the  Congregational  Church  in . 

Dear  Brethren . 

Having,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  been  led  to  remove  my  residence  to  this  place,  and 
having  been  led  to  think  it  my  duty  to  remove  my  Church  relation  to  the Con- 
gregational Church  here;  this  is  to  request  you  to  grant  me  a  letter  of  dismission  from 
your  body,  and  of  recommendation  to  its  fellowship. 

Wishing  you  grace,  mercy,  and  peace, 

I  subscribe  myself, 
Affectionately,  your  Brother  in  Christ, 
[Date  and  place  of  date.  ]  A B . 

2  The  following  is  a  good  form  for  a  letter  of  dismission  and  recommendation  : 

27i€    Congregational   Church  in  to  the   Congregational  Church  in  , 

sendeth  greeting: 
Dear  Brethren  : 

The  bearer,  Bro.  A B ,  is  a  member  with  us  in  good  and  regular  stand- 
ing. He  has  desired  a  letter  of  dismission  from  us,  and  of  recommendation  to  your 
Christian  fellowship,  and  we  have  granted  his  request;  so  that,  when  received  by  you, 
his  membership  mth  us  will  cease. 

Wishing  you  grace,  mercy,  and  peace, 

We  are  yours  in  the  Lord, 

By  the  hand  of 

[Date  and  place  of  date.]  C D ,  Church  Clerk. 

N.  B.  Please  to  inform  us,  by  a  return  of  the  accompanying  certificate  —  or  in  some 
other  way,  of  our  brother's  reception  by  you. 


This  is  to  certify  that  A B was  received  a  member  of  the  Congregor 

tional  Church  in ,  on  the of ,  by  letter  from  the  Congregational  Church 

in . 

Attest. 
[Date  and  place  of  date.]  E F Church  Clerk. 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  187 

Sometimes,  churches  —  by  standing  rule  —  commit  all  such  requests 
to  a  committee,  whose  duty  it  is  to  inquire  into  the  circumstances  of 
the  case,  and  report  whether  any  reason  exists  why  the  request  should 
not  be  complied  with.  Other  churches  require  that  such  an  applica- 
tion lie  upon  the  table  one  or  two  weeks,  before  action ;  to  give  time 
for  inquiry,  and  to  guard  against  precipitancy. 

If  a  member  should  request  dismission  to  some  Unevangelical 
Body,  it  would  become  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  attempt  to  dissuade 
him  from  such  a  course,  and,  if  he  persists,  to  make  him  a  subject  of 
discipline,  in  some  form.  No  Church  can  give  letters  to  a  body  with 
which  it  is  not  in  full  and  fraternal  fellowship.  Neither  can  a  Church 
dismiss  to  no  Church ;  that  is,  terminate  a  member's  relation  without 
censure,  and  without  transfer  ^ 

If  a  member  of  the  Church  proposes  to  be  absent  on  a  long  journey, 
or  permanently  to  remove  his  residence,  but  is  uncertain  whither,  or 
doubtful  as  to  what  Church  in  the  place  of  his  new  abode  he  may,  on 
further  acquaintance,  think  it  best  to  join  ;  he  should  take  with  him  a 
certificate  of  his  good  standing  in  the  Church,  which  will  introduce  him 
.to  Christian  communion  wherever  he  may  go,  and  postpone  asking  for 
a  letter  of  dismission  and  recommendation  until  he  ascertains  to  what 
particular  Church  his  duty  calls  him.^   It  is  neither  good  Congregation- 


[When  this  form  is  printed,  the  foregoing  certificate  may  be  printed  on  the  second  leaf  of  the 
sheet,  so  as  to  be  readily  torn  off,  filled  and  returned.  If  a  postage  stamp  were  enclosed  with 
this  certificate,  it  might  facilitate  its  return,  and  —  since  the  good  of  the  certificate  is  mainly 
for  the  dismissing  Church,  that  it  may  keep  its  record  exact —  that  slight  expenditure  really 
belongs  to  it.] 

1  Sometimes  persons  who  have  become  convinced  that  they  were  deceived  in  regard  to  their 
own  condition  when  they  joined  the  Church,  and  that  they  really  are  not  Christians,  ask  to  be 
dismissed,  or  dropped,  or  to  have  their  relation  terminated,  in  some  way,  without  discipline. 
Compliance  with  such  a  request  is  simply  impossible.  Union  to  the  Church  is  an  act  of  triple 
covenant,  namely  :  between  the  individual,  the  Church,  and  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church ; 
and  no  request  of  the  first  party,  or  consent  of  the  second,  can  discharge  that  first  party  from 
his  obligation  to  the  third  party.  He  has  solemnly  promised  to  be  the  Lord's,  and  covenanted 
with  the  Lord  that  he  will  be  His,  and  no  vote  of  the  Church  can  make  void  that  obligation. 

Is  it  asked,  what  shall  the  man  do  who  finds  himself  in  the  Church,  without  being,  in  his 
own  conviction,  a  child  of  God  ?  We  answer,  he  has  promised  to  be  a  child  of  God  —  let  bun 
keep  his  promise.  If  he  is  not  now  worthy  to  be  a  Church  member,  he  has  sworn  to  be  worthy 
—  let  him  keep  his  oath  ;  for  no  power  on  earth  can  discharge  him  from  it,  and  he  must  either 
keep  it,  or  go  up  to  the  judgment  seat,  and  answer,  in  addition  to  all  his  other  sins,  for  that 
great  guilt  of  vowiug-unto  the  Lord,  and  failing  to  redeem  his  vow.  Cambridge  Platform  says, 
explicitly,  "  the  Church  cannot  make  a  member  no  member,  but  by  excommunication." 
jChap.  xiii.  Sec.  7.) 

2  A  letter  of  this  description  may  be  given  by  the  Pastor,  or  tht  Clerk,  without  special  vote 
of  the  Church.    The  following  would  be  a  suitable  form  : 


188  CONGREGATIOXALTS^r. 

alism,  nor  good  common  sense,  for  a  Church  to  grant  one  of  its  mem- 
bers a  "general  letter  "of  dismission  "  to  any  Church  to  which  the  Prov- 
idence of  God  may  lead  him."  Such  a  Church  is  very  apt  to  prove 
no  Church,  and  such  a  letter  to  lead  to  confusion,  and  the  losing  sight 
of  members  through  unprofitable  and  ungodly  years  ;  and  the  Church 
member  who  cannot  afford  a  new  postage  stamp  to  ask  for  a  special 
letter,  when  he  has  found  out  to  what  particular  Church  it  should  be 
directed,  deserves  no  letter  at  all. 

It  is,  for  many  reasons,  often  a  wise  course  to  superscribe  and  send 
the  letter  of  dismission  to  the  Pastor  of  the  Church  to  which  it  is  di- 
rected, rather  than  to  the  individual  asking  for  it.  It  notifies  the 
Pastor,  at  once,  that  there  is  such  a  member  of  his  flock  proposing 
union  to  his  Church,  and  smoothes  the  way  to  a  pleasant  introduction 
of  acquaintance  between  the  two  —  where  none  has  been  formed ; 
while  it  facilitates  the  speedy  use  of  the  letter,  in  the  union  of  the 
member  dismissed  by  it  to  the  Church  of  his  new  home. 

All  dismissed  members  remain  members  still  of  the  dismissinjr 
Church,  until  that  relation  is  terminated  by  their  actual  reception  into 
that  to  which  they  have  been  dismissed ;  though  some  churches,  by 
special  rule,  withdraw  from  such  dismissed  members  the  right  of  vo- 
ting (unless  they  return  their  letter.)  When  the  tenure  of  a  letter  of 
dismission  is  limited  to  one  year,  or  six  months,  as  it  often  is,  by 
standing  rule,  and  the  letter  lies  unused  during  that  time,  it  becomes 
null ;  and  the  member  falls  back  into  full  membership  in  the  Church 
which  gave  it,  and  must  get  a  new  letter ;  while  he  becomes  the  sub- 
ject of  inquiry  and  of  discipline,  if  he  has  improperly  failed  to  use  his 
letter  during  its  validity. 

(5.)  Disciplining  members.  Since  "  it  must  needs  be  that  offences 
come,"  it  is  necessary  that  some  regular  method  of  procedure  in  re- 


'To  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity. 
Dear  Brethren : 
Let  this  certify  that  the  bearer,  A B ,  is  a  member,  in  good  and  reg- 
ular standing,  of  the  Congregational  Church  in ;  and,  as  such,  is  (ij'ectionately 

commended  to  the  Christian  fellowship  of  any  Church  'of  Chiisl  ivith  which  he  may 
desire  to  commune,  and  to  the  kind  offices  of  all  the  people  of  God. 
Witness  my  hand, 

I  Pastor  [or  Clerk]  of  the 


[Date,  and  place  of  date.] 


<  Cnngregationcd   Chunk 


HOW   CONGEEGATIONALISM   WOKKS.  189 

gard  to  them  should  be  followed  by  the  Church ;  and  our  Saviour,  in 
the  18th  of  Matthew,  laid  down  the  general  principles  on  which 
Church  discipline  should  be  founded.^  The  more  faithfully  any 
Church  can  succeed  in  carrying  them  out,  the  more  healthful  and 
useful  will  be  the  results  of  its  action.  Four  classes  will  include  all 
those  offences  with  which  churches  are  called  to  deal,  namely ;  pri- 
vate offences  where  but  one  individual  is  concerned ;  private  offences 
between  two  or  more ;  matters  of  public  and  notorious  scandal ;  and 
departures  from  the  covenant,  on  the  part  of  those  whose  lives  are 
otherwise  blameless. 

(a.)  Private  offences  where  only  one  individual  is  concerned.  Such 
an  offence  would  be  an  instance  of  drunkenness,  or  profaneness,  or 
falsehood,  or  of  any  unchristian  conduct,  on  the  part  of  an  individual 
Church  member,  where  it  is  known  only  to  another,  or  at  most  to  a 
very  few  —  the  body  of  the  Church,  and  the  community,  being  igno- 
rant of  it.  In  such  a  case  it  becomes,  by  the  mutual  covenant  be- 
tween them,  the  duty  of  the  brother  who  knows  it,  and  is  grieved  by 
it  (not  because  it  is  an  offence  against  him,  but  because  it  is  an  offence 
against  God,  which  has  been  forced  upon  his  cognizance,) ^  to  go  to 
his  errino-  brother  alone,  and  confidentially,  and  seek  to  bring  him  to 
repentance.  Should  he  be  successful  —  the  offender  acknowledging 
and  bewaihng  his  guilt,  and  promising  repentance  toward  God,  and 
reformation  of  life  —  that  would  end  the  matter.  Should  the  result 
be  otherwise,  the  brother  should  take  —  confidentially  as  before  — 
two  or  three  judicious  brethren  with  him,  and  all  of  them  together 
should  labor  to  bring  the  offender  to  penitence  and  reformation.  If 
now  successful,  this  will  end  the  mattero  If  the  offender  continue 
obdurate,  and  furnish  new  proof  of  the  unchristian  posture  of  his 
heart,  nothing  remains  but  to  '  tell  it  unto  the  Church.'  Yet  this 
may  wisely  be  done  in  a  cautious  and  unhasty  way,  giving  the  of- 
fender time  to  think  the  matter  over  in  all  its  aspects,  if  perchance  he  . 


1  See  pp.  41,  42. 

s  Let  it  be  said  here,  once  for  all,  in  answer  to  all  inquiries  as  to  whose  dutj'  it  is  to  com- 
mence Christian  labor  with  an  offender  ;  It  is  often  assumed  that  Christ's  "  if  thy  brother  tres- 
pass against  tnee,"  etc.,  refers  exclusively  to  a  personal  quarrel  between  the  two,  so  that  it  is 
nobody's  business  to  try  to  reclaim  an  offender  but  the  brother  with  whom  he  had  the  quarrel 
—  very  likely  the  last  man  to  try  it,  or  to  succeed  in  it.  But  the  mutual  covenant  between  all 
the  membership,  makes  the  quarrel  of  one  brother  with  another  a  trespass  against  the  peace 
of  all,  so  that  ani/  brother  having  cognizance  of  the  fact  may  go,  and  ought  to  go,  and  labor  to 
have  the  wrong  righted,  and  the  scandal  removed. 


190  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

may  come  to  a  better  mind  —  since  the  first  object  of  all  Church  dis- 
cipline must  always  be  the  reformation  of  the  guilty.  To  favor  this 
wise  delay,  many  churches  make  it  a  standing  rule/  that  all  com- 
plaints, in  cases  of  discipline,  be  made  first  to  the  Examining  Com- 
mittee ;  ^  that  they  may  review  the  facts,  with  the  steps  already  taken, 
and  privately  endeavor  to  bring  the  offender  to  that  state  of  mind 
and  heart,  which  his  covenant  vows  demand.  Failing  in  this,  the 
Committee  would  bring  the  matter  to  the  attention  of  the  Church,  by 
entering  a  formal  complaint,  charging  definitely  upon  the  offender  the 
offence  committed,  and  stating  the  evidence  by  which  the  charge  can 
be   substantiated.*     K  the  Church  vote  to  entertain  this  complaint. 


1  See  page  175,  (note),  Art.  21.  (3.) 

2  Where  there  is  no  Examining  Committee,  and  no  Committee  of  any  kind  charged  with  the 
care  of  cases  of  discipline  in  their  early  stages,  the  complainant  would  most  naturally  carry  his 
complaint  to  the  Pastor  and  Deacons,  who  might  bring  it  before  the  Church  themselves,  or  se- 
cure some  brother  to  do  so,  and  have  it  referred  to  a  special  committee  for  investigation  —  on 
whose  report  the  Church  would  drop  the  matter,  or  proceed  to  ultimate  it  by  a  regular  charge, 
and  trial.  The  advantage  of  having  some  Standing  Committee  before  whom  such  cases  may  be 
quietly  brought,  is  that,  in  a  majority  of  cases  — we  might  say  in  all  cases,  where  misapprehen- 
sion, and  not  a  chronically  unchristian  state  ot  the  soul  is  tb«i  cause  of  the  difficulty  —  the 
whole  trouble  may  be  settled  vnthout  any  public  cognizance  of  the  Church ,  with  its  inevitable 
attendant  scandal,  to  the  cause.  The  mising  of  a  special  committee  to  investigate  a  case  that 
might  be  so  settled  by  a  standing  committee,  is,  of  itself,  an  evil. 

3  Such  a  complaint  might  take  some  such  form  as  this  : 

To  the  Congregational  Church  in . 

IDear  Brethren: 

It  becomes  our  painful  duty  to  bring  to  your  notice  the  offence  of  a  brother,  and  to 
ask  you  to  deal  urith  it  according  to  the  law  of  Christ,  Having  become  satisfied  of  his 
guilt,  and  having  failed  —  in  the  use  oj  the  first  steps  of  Gospel  discipline  —  to  bring 
Mm  to  a  better  mind,  we  are  compelled,  in  great  sorrow  of  heart,  and  unth  the  earnest 
prayer  that  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  may  bless  this  labor  to  the  restoration  of  our 
erring  brother,  to  make  the  following  complaint  against  him. 

We  charge  Brother  A J3 with  being  guilty  of  the  sin  of ;  and 

particularly  on  the day  of last,    Javd  at  other  times];  and  of  denying  the 

same,  [or  remaining  obdurate  in  regard  to  the  same]  :  in  violation  of  his  duty  as  a 
Christian,  and  of  his  covenant  vows. 

Brothers  C D and  E F ,  are  ivitnesses  of  the  subject-mat- 
ter of  this  complaint. 

We  respectfully  ask  you  to  entertain  this  charge,  and  to  proceed  to  try  the  same,  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  this  Church,  and  the  law  of  Christ. 
Your  brethren, 


Examining 
Committee 
of  the  Con- 
gregational 
Church  in 


(Date.) 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  191 

they  will  then  appoint  a  time  for  a  hearing  of  the  case,  and  summon 
the  offender  to  be  present  and  take  his  trial  upon  the  charge  preferred 
against  him  —  furnishing  him  seasonably  with  a  copy  of  the  charge, 
and  with  the  names  of  the  witnesses  on  whom  reliance  will  be  had 
for  proofs  If,  at  this  hearing,  he  should  acknowledge  his  guilt,  the 
matter  could  be  settled  by  his  making  a  pubhc  confession  of  his  sin ; 
(his  private  confession  to  the  party  who  labored  with  him,  would  not 
now  suffice,  because  the  offence  has  been  made  public,  and  the  con- 
fession must  be  as  public  as  the  scandal),  and  asking  forgiveness  of 
God,  and  of  the  Church.  If  he  should  deny  his  offence,  or  seem  in- 
sensible to  it,  and  remain  obdurate,  while  the  Church  become  satisfied 
of  his  guilt,  they  must  vote  to  admonish  him,  to  suspend  him  for  some 
definite  period  from  Church  privileges,  or  to  excommunicate  him  al- 
together, according  to  the  aggravation  of  his  offence,  the  state  of 
mind  in  which  he  is,  and  their  conviction  of  the  requisitions  of  the 
general  good.  It  is  usual,  however — for  better  security  against  hasty 
and  unjust  action  —  to  demand  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds,  or 
three-fourths,  of  all  the  male  members  present,  for  the  passage  of  any 
such  vote  of  censure. 

Such  admonition  would  have  no  effect  upon  his  Church  privileges. 
Suspension  would  deprive  him  of  them  all  during  the  period  of  its 
continuance.  Should  that  be  for  some  definite  period  of  time  —  as 
six  months,  or  one  year  —  and  no  action  then  be  taken,  his  sentence 
of  suspension  having  terminated  itself,  his  full  Church  privileges 
v«'Ould  revert  to  him.  Should  his  suspension,  however,  have  been 
made  operative  "  until  he  shall  show  penitence,  and  ask  to  be  restored," 
it  would  continue  indefinitely  until  terminated  by  vote  —  consequent 
upon  his  confession  and  desire  for  restoration ;  or  upon  renewed  evi- 
dence of  his  hardness  of  heart,  leading  the  Church  to  feel  that  he 
ought  to  be  excommunicated.  Excommunication  would  cut  him  off 
ignominiously  from  all  relation  of  privilege  to  the  Church,  while  it 
would  leave  upon  him  all  relations  of  duty,  inasmuch  as  he  has  for- 


1  It  is  usual  to  hold  the  confession  of  the  party  accused,  the  concurrence  of  two  or  more 
competent  witnesses  (Matt,  xviii :  16),  or  circumstantial  evidence  to  the  same  amount,  to  be  suf- 
ficient for  conviction.  One  witness  —  without  added  circumstantial  evidence  enough  to  amount 
to  the  testimony  of  a  second  witness  —  would  not  justify  discipline.  Witnesses,  however,  need 
not  be  themselves  Church  members,  to  be  competent.  Any  whom  a  court  of  justice  would  re- 
ceive, the  Church  may  —  reserving  the  right  to  take  all  testimony  at  its  own  estimate  of  value. 


192  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

felted  all  privilege  by  his  own  misconduct,  while  he  cannot  forfeit  the 
claims  of  duty  which  rest  upon  him  in  virtue  of  his  covenant  with 
God  —  a  covenant  from  which  God  never  will  release  him.  Hence, 
he  remains  an  excommunicated  Church  member,  not  a  non- Church 
member ;  as  the  criminal  imprisoned  for  life  ceases  not  to  be  a  mem- 
ber of  human  society,  but  is  an  imprisoned  member.  And,  as  such  a 
prisoner  resumes  his  status  in  society  when  he  is  "  pardoned  out ; " 
so,  should  an  excommunicated  Church  member  repent,  and  ask  to  be 
forgiven,  the  lifting  of  the  sentence  of  excommunication  from  him,  on 
his  humble  confession,  would  at  once  restore  him  to  '  good  and  regu- 
lar standing '  in  the  Church  without  his  needing  to  be  admitted  '  by 
profession,'  de  novo} 

Public  notice  ought  to  be  given  to  the  congregation  usually  wor- 
shipping with  a  Church,  of  any  vote  of  extreme  censure ;  because  the 
scandal  which  rendered  it  necessary,  has  become  public,  and  the  cause 
of  Christ  is  entitled  to  the  public  benefit  of  its  acts  of  self-purification. 

(i.)  Private  offences  between  two  or  more.  These  are,  perhaps, 
the  commonest  form  of  Church  offence ;  as  when  two  members  "  have 
a  difficulty,"  or  when  one  member  "  has  a  difficulty "  with  a  non- 
Church  member  —  when  the  matter  has  not  been  noised  abroad  so  as 
to  become  a  public  scandal.  In  the  former  case,  one  or  the  other  of 
the  two  who  are  aggrieved,  would  naturally  commence  to  labor  with 
the  other,  and,  failing  to  secure  satisfaction  —  upon  the  attempt  to  do 


1  It  used  to  be  held  that  excommunication  was  a  delivery  to  Satan ,  and  that  the  meaning  of ' '  let 
him  be  unto  thee  as  an  heathen  man,  and  a  publican,'"  required  civil  and  social  non-intercourse. 
(See  Cummiugs'  Congregational  Dictionary,  pp.  171-181.)  It  was  held,  of  course,  that  the  act 
put  one  out  of  the  Church  in  such  a  manner  as  to  "  make  a  member  no  member."  But  Samuel 
Mather  sets  the  matter  right  (in  his  Apology,  p  108),  where  he  says,  the  churches  pretend  to 
no  more  power  and  jurisdiction  over  their  members  "  than  a  society  of  discreet  and  grave  Phil- 
osophers over  such  as  are  admitted  into  their  society,  whom  they  see  meet  to  admit  when  they 
are  duly  qualified  ;  and  they  think  themselves  obliged  to  censure,  and  exclude  from  their  so- 
ciety, when  they  have  forfeited  the  privileges  of  it  by  their  exotic  sentiments  or  indecent  car- 
riages. 'Tis  true,  some  of  our  Congregational  brethren,  who  verge  toward  Presbyterianism, 
pretend  to  much  more  in  their  discipline  than  that  for  which  I  have  been  pleading ;  but  all 
such  as  are  thoroughly  Congregational  will  be  content  with  this.  I  must  confess,  that  this  is 
all  the  power  to  which  the  churches  have  any  rightful  claim  ;  and,  I  conceive,  all  that  they 
pretended  to  exercise  in  the  early  times  of  Christianity."  So  Homius  says  (Hist.  Eccles.  p. 
145,)  of  the  excommunications  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  "  neque  vero  excommunicatio  aliud 
tum  erat  quam  separatio,  non-communio,  renunciatio  communionis ;  non  vero  damnatio,  exe- 
cratio,"  etc.  Alford's  comment,  on  Matt,  xviii :  17,  is  "  let  him  no  longer  be  accounted  es  a 
brother,  but  as  one  of  those  without  —  as  the  Jews  accounted  Gentiles  and  Publicans  Yet 
even  then  not  with  hatred ;  {See  1  Cor.  v :  11,  and  compare  2  Cor  ii .  6,  7,  and  2  Thess  iii :  14 
15)."    Vol.  i.  p.  177. 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  193 

SO  in  the  presence  of  witnesses  —  would  bring  it  to  the  notice  of 
the  Examining  Committee  (or  the  Pastor  and  Deacons),  who  would 
proceed  as  before.  If  neither  of  the  two  commence  to  labor  with  the 
other,  it  would  be  the  duty  of  any  brother  who  should  become  cogni- 
zant of  their  disagreement,  to  commence  labor  with  both  of  them,  for 
its  removal ;  and  to  pursue  it  until  the  end  should  be  reached.  There 
IS  no  greater  hindrance  within  the  Church  to  the  progress  of  the  Re- 
deemer's kingdom,  than  the  sullen,  or  violent,  differences  of  those 
who  have  covenanted  to  walk  with  each  other  in  all  brotherly  love 
and  fellowship,  but  who  fall  out  by  the  way,  and  even  stay  away  from 
the  table  of  the  Lord,  because  they  will  not  partake  with  their  enemy. 
Such  a  scandalous  state  of  things  should  not  be  suffered  to  exist,  and 
the  surest  way  to  end  it,  is  for  the  first  brother  who  gets  knowledge  of 
such  a  quarrel,  to  commence  Gospel  labor  with  both  parties  to  it,  and 
to  pursue  that  labor  until  the  breach  is  healed,  or  the  Church  purified 
by  the  excision  of  the  offenders. 

In  the  latter  case  referred  to,  the  party  to  the  difficulty  who  is  not 
a  Church  member  may  properly  tell  his  grievance  to  sorap  one  who 
is ;  who  may  undertake  the  work  of  reconciliation,  and  of  the  disci- 
pline of  his  brother  —  if  he  seems  to  deserve  it. 

(c.)  Hatters  of  public  scandal.  It  has  been  said  by  some  Congre- 
gational authorities,  that  in  matters  of  open  and  notorious  offence  on 
the  part  of  a  Church  member  (as  where  he  should  have  committed 
murder,  or  eloped  with  the  wife  of  another,  etc.,)  there  is  no  need 
of  any  preliminary  and  private  steps,  but  the  Church  ought  to  purify 
itself  by  the  instant  expulsion  of  the  criminal.  But  this  forgets  that 
the  first  aim  of  Church  discipline  must  always  be  the  reformation  of 
the  offender,  and  that  the  '  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from  all 
sin.'  And  although  the  Cambridge  Platform  (Chap.  xiv.  Sec.  3) 
warrants  such  a  course,  it  seems  to  us  that  nothing  can  be  lost,  while 
much  may  be  gained  by  adhering  rigorously,  in  all  cases,  to  the  rule 
that  the  Church  will  not  entertain  a  complaint  against  one  of  its 
members,  except  in  the  regular  way,  and  on  assurance  that  the  *  pri- 
vate steps '  have  been  rightly  taken. ^    The  only  difference  which  we 

1  We  say  *'  rightly  taken,"  because  we  have  known  the  most  absurd  misapprehension  to  exist 
in  regard  to  those  steps.  We  have  known  one  Church  member,  who  '  had  a  difiBculty '  with  a 
brother,  to  have  a  conversation  with  him  which  contained  not  the  most  distant  allusion  to  their 
'  difficulty,'  nor  the  faintest  attempt  to  reconcile  it  on  Gospel  principles,  and  then  to  turn  back 

13 


194  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

should  allow,  then,  between  procedure  in  cases  of  open  scandal,  and 
those  of  a  private  nature,  is  that  in  them  it  would  be  the  duty  of  the 
Examining  Committee  (or,  in  their  absence,  of  the  Pastor  and  Dea- 
cons) to  commence  their  labor  preparatory  to  discipline,  without  wait- 
ing for  complaint  from  any  individual. 

(d.)  Violations  of  the  Articles  of  Faith  and  Covenant.  This  class  of 
offences  sometimes  grievously  perplexes  a  Church.  Where  a  man  of 
irreproachable — even  of  an  eminently  useful,  and  beautiful — life,  grad- 
ually, under  the  influence  of  friends,  or  it  may  be  of  fnental  idiosyncracy, 
strongly  inclining  him  toward  some  plausible  error,  departs  from  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  saints  until  he  holds  and  advocates  doctrines 
destructive  of  the  creed  of  the  Church  with  which  he  is  in  covenant 
relation,  that  Church  must  necessarily  take  cognizance  of  the  change. 
It  has  covenanted  to  ^  watch  over  him '  and  to  '  seek  his  edification.' 
No  charge  can  be  made  against  his  moral  character ;  perhaps,  even, 
those  who  know  him  best  are  confident  that  he  is  still  a  true  disciple 
of  the  Saviour.  Under  these  peculiarly  trying  circumstances,  what 
shall  be  done  ? 

In  reply,  it  is  clear  that  not  all  who  are  hopefully  Christians,  can 
rightly  belong  to  any  given  Church,  but  only  those  who,  as  Christians, 
hold,  for  substance,  the  faith  as  the  Church  holds  it.  Baptists  and 
Methodists,  though  ever  so  eminent  as  Christians,  could  not  walk 
with  a  Church  holding  the  ordinary  Pagdo-baptist,  and  Predestinarian 
Congregational  creed.  It  is  not  a  necessary  conclusion,  therefore, 
that  the  withdrawal  by  a  Church,  of  its  fellowship,  from  a  person 
whose  faith  has  lapsed  from  the  articles  of  its  creed,  is  necessarily  a 
remission  of  him  to  hopeless  destruction,  or  even  to  uncovenanted 
mercy.     The  Church  is  responsible  before  God  to  walk  according  to 


as  he  was  walking  away,  and  tell  him  '  he  might  please  to  consider  that  the  first  step  according 
to  the  18th  of  Matthew,  had  been  taken  with  him  I '  And  we  have  known  the  second  man, 
thereafter,  to  dodge  the  first,  as  if  he  were  an  assassin  waiting  to  fire  the  pistol  of  tlie  '  second 
step  '  at  him,  and  the  first  —  after  long  patience  —  to  corner  his  victim,  and  follow  his  opening 
salutation  with  the  words,  '  I  hereby  notify  you  that  I  have  taken  the  second  step,  in  the 
presence  of  these  witnesses,  and  shall  immediately  enter  a  complaint  before  the  Church  against 
you ! ' 

All  such  formal  and  merely  technical  procedure  disgracefully  violates  the  Saviour's  intent  — 
who  had  in  mind,  evidently,  a  tender  fraternal  conference  in  the  use  of  every  means  of  persua- 
sion from  error,  in  the  first  place  ;  and,  in  the  second,  the  seconding  of  that  by  the  added  en- 
treaty and  influence  of  the  '  one  or  two  more  '  —  who  might  also  serve  as  witnesses  of  the  sub- 
sequent reconciliation,  or  renewal  of  the  offence. 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  195 

its  covenant  with  Him ;  and  the  individual  is  responsible  before  God 
for  his  own  belief,  whatever  it  may  be.     Each  must  do  its  own  duty. 

The  first  step  in  such  a  case,  should  then  be  careful,  and  faithful, 
and  most  fraternal  labor  with  the  individual — either  by  some  brother 
specially  interested  in  him,  and  grieved  by  his  position,  or  by  the 
Pastor  —  in  the  hope  to  persuade  him  to  return  whence  he  has 
strayed.  This  failing,  a  regular  process  of  discipline  must  issue,  in 
ordinary  form  (which  will  most  likely  be  cut  short  by  the  frank  avowal 
on  the  part  of  the  individual,  of  his  changed  belief)  ultimating  in  final 
separation  from  the  Church.  Some  would  argue  from  Paul's  use  of 
the  phrase  "  withdraw  yourselves  from  every  brother  that  walketh  dis- 
"orderly,  and  not  after  the  tradition  which  he  received  of  us,"  (2  Thess. 
iii :  6)  that  the  proper  Church  act  in  this  case  would  be  called  "  with- 
drawal of  fellowship,"  rather  than  excommunication;  urging  that 
the  latter  implies  forfeiture  of  Christian  standing,  the  former  only  for- 
feiture of  Church  standing.  Mr.  Punchard  ably  argues  thus,  in  the 
appendix  of  his  View  of  Congregationalism  (pp.  329-336),  but  ac- 
knowledges a  lack  of  Congregational  authorities  in  support  of  his  po- 
sition. The  truth  would  seem  to  be  that  there  is  little,  if  any,  dif- 
ference between  the  two  methods  of  cutting  off  a  member  —  in 
their  practical  results,  and  that  if  it  would  make  it  easier  for  any 
Church  to  discharge  its  painful  duty  by  calling  the  act  of  excision  by 
the  milder  name,  there  can  be  no  objection  to  its  doing  so.  Whether 
it  do  so,  or  not,  all  who  are  cognizant  of  the  transactionf  will  always 
understand  the  difference  between  expulsion  for  a  faith  against  the 
covenant,  and  for  a  life  against  the  Gospel. 

Other  cases  of  violation  of  covenant  sometimes  arise  —  as  when 
members  remove,  and  are  gone  years  without  taking  letters  of  dis- 
mission ;  or  when  they,  for  some  fickle  reason,  neglect  their  own 
spiritual  home,  and  wander  about  from  Church  to  Church,  in  the 
vicinity,  ever  on  the  watch  for  the  last  new  pulpit  light,  etc.  Such 
cases  must  be  dealt  with  tenderly,  and  always  in  the  loving  aim  of 
reclamation;  yet,  where  worst  comes  to  w^orst,  they  should  not  be 
spared  from  the  extreme  sentence  of  the  law  of  Christ. 

Section  4.     How  to  vacate  Church  offices. 
The  general  understanding  with  which  the  lesser  officers  of  a  Con- 
gregational Church  are  chosen,  is  that  they  will  serve  until  the  next 


196  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

annual  meeting;  or  —  if  that  meeting  should  not  take  place  at  the 
usual  time  —  until  others  are  chosen  in  their  places.  With  regard 
to  Deacons  and  Pastors,  the  understanding  is,  usually,  that  they  will 
serve  during  good  behavior,  or  until  such  time  as  the  best  interests 
of  the  Church  may  require  their  removal ;  though,  of  late  years,  some 
churches  have  introduced  the  custom  of  choosing  Deacons  for  a  term 
of  years,  taking  care  that  they  shall  be  so  chosen  that  all  shall  not  re- 
tire, or  take  their  chance  of  reelection,  at  the  same  time.  Cases 
sometimes  occur,  however,  when  the  best  interests  of  the  Church  de- 
mand the  removal  of  an  officer,  while  his  official  term  is  unexpired, 
and  when  he  himself  is  not  forward  to  move  in  the  matter.  It  is  im- 
portant to  the  welfare  of  the  Church  that  whatever  steps  may  be" 
taken,  in  such  a  case,  should  be  taken  prudently. 

(a.)  How  to  vacate  lesser  C/mrch  offices.  It  may  often  be  best, 
where  it  is  unquestionably  the  desire  of  the  majority  of  the  Church 
that  such  an  officer  should  retire  from  his  official  position,  to  allow 
him  to  serve  out  the  remainder  of  his  term  until  the  annual  meeting, 
rather  than  to  risk  '  hard  feeling '  in  his  removal.  But  there  may  be 
cases  where  the  longer  continuance  of  a  brother  in  office  would  clearly 
be  so  detrimental  to  the  Church,  that  less  harm  would  result  from  his 
removal,  than  from  his  continuance.  In  such  a  case,  the  Church 
should  pass  a  vote  requesting  him  to  resign  his  office,  and,  if  that 
prove  ineffigctual,  a  second  vote,  removing  him  from  that  office  — 
which  it  may  then  proceed  to  fill.  The  claim  that  a  man  once  chosen 
has  a  right  to  his  office  during  the  whole  term  for  which  he  was  ex- 
pected to  hold  it  when  elected,  and  in  expectation  of  which  he  based 
his  acceptance,  is  good  only  while  the  state  of  things  in  which  he  was 
elected  remains  essentially  unchanged.  If  he  has  developed  traits  of 
character  which  were  unsuspected  before,  and  which,  if  known,  would 
have  prevented  his  election ;  that  changes  the  whole  aspect  of  the  mat- 
ter, and  terminates  his  right.  Or,  if  any  circumstances  have  arisen, 
affecting  his  usefulness,  which  the  Church  did  not  anticipate  when 
electing  him,  and  which,  if  anticipated,  would  have  made  his  election 
impossible,  that  terminates  his  right.  The  general  principle  which 
must  always  govern,  in  such  a  case,  is  that  the  welfare  of  the  Church 
is  of  more  importance  than  the  pride  or  the  desire  of  office  of  an  individ- 
ual, and  that  the  power  which  set  up  —  always  supposing  it  has  not 
hampered  itself  by  any  organic  law  which  would  take  away  its  power 


H0>7    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  197 

temporarily  from  itself —  has  the  power  to  set  down  ;  and  is  solemnly 
bound  to  administer  its  affairs  in  the  interest  of  Christ  and  his  causa, 
and  not  of  any  person,  or  persons,  whatsoever. 

(5.)  How  to  vacate  the  Deaconship.  The  principles  just  referred 
to  apply  with  even  augmented  force  in  the  case  of  the  Deacons  of  a 
Church,  especially  when  they  are  chosen  for  life.  It  has  not  been  an 
unheard-of  thing  among  us,  for  Deacons  to  have  officially  '  outlived 
their  usefulness,'  and  for  churches  to  be  greatly  troubled  with  them, 
and  still  more  troubled  to  know  how  to  be  rid  of  them.  This  has 
been  sometimes  specially  the  case  where  Deacons  have  mistaken  the 
nature  of  the  trust  confided  to  them  by  the  Church,  and  supposed 
themselves  —  instead  of  being  merely  its  servants,  appointed  to  take 
care  of  its  temporalities,  to  comfort  and  help  its  poor  members,  and  to 
minister  at  the  communion  table  —  to  be  an  oligarchy  for  its  supreme 
control,  including  the  management  of  the  Pastor — whose  'usefulness' 
in  their  judgment,  is  measured  dh-ectly  by  the  degree  of  his  subser- 
viency to  their  dictation. 

It  is  impossible  to  deny  that  a  Deacon  has  no  moral  right  to  con- 
tinuance in  his  office,  when  that  continuance  is  not  for  the  best  good 
of  the  Church — because  he  was  chosen  for  its  help,  and  not  for  its 
liindrance.  And  if  he  has,  then,  no  moral  right  to  continuance  in 
office,  the  Church  has  no  moral  right  to  let  him  continue  in  it ;  and 
u  they  have  no  moral  right  to  let  him  continue  in  his  office,  they  are 
morally  bound  to  remove  him  from  it. 

When  such  a  case  unfortunately  exists,  where  a  decided  majority 
of  the  Church  are  of  opinion  that  the  longer  continuance  of  a  Dea- 
con in  office  is  not  for  the  good  of  the  Church,  the  first  appropriate 
step  would  be,  for  some  influential  members  of  the  Church  to  con- 
verse with  him  privately,  and  inform  him  of  the  feeling  of  the  Church, 
and  urge  him  to  resign  his  office.  If  he  should  doubt  the  truth  of 
their  representation,  or  refuse,  altogether,  to  do  any  thing  about  it, 
it  would  be  wise  for  one  of  these  brethren  to  bring  the  matter  before 
the  Church,  and  for  tlie  Church  to  pass  a  vote  requesting  him  to  re- 
sign, and  to  appoint  a  committee  to  endeavor  to  induce  him  to  com- 
ply with  that  request.  This  failing  to  produce  the  desired  result,  the 
way  is  then  open  for  the  Church  to  pass  a  vote  removing  him  from 
office,  and  to  make  arrangements  to  fill  the  vacancy  thus  created. 

Such  a  vote  is  not  a  vote  of  censure  upon  such  a  Deacon's  Chris- 


198  »  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

tian  character,  but  merely  a  declaration  on  the  part  of  the  Church, 
that  however  good  a  Christian  he  may  be,  he  is  not  the  most  desira- 
ble man  for  the  office  of  a  Deacon  with  them.  We  have  known  a 
Deacon  so  deposed  ta  endeavor  to  persist  in  serving,  on  the  ground 
that  he  was  chosen  for  life,  and  that  the  office  could  not  be  taken  from 
him  except  for  some  disciplinable  offence,  destructive  of  his  Christian 
character;  and  claiming  that  such  a  vote  of  deposition  was  an  attempt 
to  discipline  him  in  an  unconstitutional  manner.  This  absurdly  con- 
fuses Christian  character,  with  fitness  for  important  office  in  the 
Church.  Such  a  Deacon,  so  deposed,  has  no  more  ground  of  com- 
plaint against  the  Church  for  an  attack  upon  his  personal  piety  in  the 
vote  of  deposition,  than  each  of  the  '  ninety  and  nine  just  persons ' 
who  were  not  chosen  Deacon,  when  he  was  chosen,  have,  that  their 
non-choice  was  an  attack  upon  their  personal  piety.  True,  a  Deacon 
in  such  circumstances  needs  to  use  great  caution,  or  he  will  be  be- 
trayed into  saying  and  doing  things  which  will  furnish  just  ground  of 
complaint  against  his  Christian  character. 

So,  on  the  ether  hand,  we  have  known  a  Church  to  suffer  for  years 
under  the  malign  influence  of  a  Deacon  who,  though  nobody  doubted 
that  he  would  go  to  Heaven  when  he  died,  continued,  yet,  to  make 
himself  so  unlovely  in  his  office,  that  there  would  have  been  a  general 
willingness  on  the  part  of  the  Church  to  have  him  go,  if  the  Lord 
wanted  him;  because  it  labored  under  the  impression  that  having 
once  chosen  him,  he  could  not  be  removed  except  he  committed  some 
*  disciplinable  offence.'  But  nothing  can  be  clearer  —  in  point  of 
principle  —  than  that  a  Church  not  only  has  the  right,  but,  in  ordi- 
nary cases,  is  bound  to  exercise  the  right,  by  majority  vote,  to  remove 
a  Deacon  whenever  the  Church  feels  that  its  good  clearly  requires 
such  removal — and  to  base  their  action  distinctly  on  that  ground 
as  its  justifying  cause, 

(cc)  How  to  vacate  the  Pastorship.  It  is  a  little  remarkable  that 
those  very  Deacons  who  —  being  chosen  for  life,  or  good  behavior  — 
fail  to  see  the  right  of  the  Church  to  remove  them  except  they  have 
committed  some  disciplinable  offence ,  are  yet  usually  prompt  to  re- 
cognize the  propriety  of  the  removal  of  a  Pastor  —  chosen  on  the 
same  tenure  of  office  as  themselves  —  when  the  Church  desire  him 
to  go,  even  when  hj  hath  not '  committed  things,  worthy  of  stripes ! ' 
So  far  as  the  Churth  officer-ship  of  the  Pastorship  is  concerned,  how- 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  199 

ever,  the  same  principles  apply  to  both  cases.  And  when  the  decided 
majority  of  a  Church  have  become  conscientiously  persuaded  that  the 
good  of  the  cause  of  Christ  requires  their  Pastor's  removal,  it  is  both 
their  right  and  their  duty  to  move  in  the  matter.  The  process  of  the 
dissolution  of  the  Pastoral  office  is,  however,  complicated  %  first,  by  the 
fact  that,  as  the  public  officer  of  the  Church,  through  whom  especially 
it  comes  into  contact  with  other  churches — and  who  was  inducted  by 
their  advice  —  the  fellowship  of  the  churches  requires  that  their  ad- 
vice should  be  taken  also  upon  the  question  of  his  removal ;  and  sec- 
ond, by  the  fact  of  a  contract  ^  between  the  two  parties,  of  which  the 
law  takes  cognizance,  and  which  it  holds  itself  bound  to  enforce. 

The  first  appropriate  step  would  be  that  of  private  conference 
with  the  Pastor,  in  which,  in  the  freest,  frankest,  fullest,  and  most 
Christian  manner,  prominent  members  of  the  Church  should  ac- 
quaint him  with  the  judgment  ol  the  body  upon  the  matter ;  stating 
all  the  reasons  which  lead  them  to  believe  that  the  common  good 
would  be  promoted  by  his  removal.  They  ought,  at  such  a  time, 
moreover,  to  remember  that  they  are  asking  their  Pastor  to  make  a 
sacrifice  of  reputation,  and  probably  of  worldly  goods,  for  their  advan- 
tage ;  and,  since  it  is  almost  inevitable  that  a  large  share  of  the  blame 
of  the  existing  state  of  things  rests  upon  them,  they  ought,  in  a  gen- 
erous spirit,  to  offiir  to  share  with  him  —  so  far  as  their  pecuniary  aid 
can  go  —  the  inconvenience  and  loss  to  which  they  ask  him  to  submit 
for  their  sake.  A  little  more  magnanimity  and  Christian  generosity 
in  this  direction  would  have  relieved  many  a  retiring  Pastor's  heart 
from  great  suffering,  and  would  have  saved  some  Churches  and  Par- 
ishes from  expensive  difficulties  in  "  fighting  off"  one  who  so  smarted 
under  a  sense  of  injury  from  them,  as  pertinaciously  to  claim  the 
fullest  protection  of  the  law  for  the  contract  between  them. 

1  '"  According  to  early  New  England  Congregationalism,  the  pastorate  is  simply  an  office  in  a 
particular  Church,  of  Divine  origin,  but  to  which  the  Church  elects  the  incumbent  as  it  would 
any  other  officer.  Ordination  was  merely  inauguration  into  the  office  pertaining  to  that 
Church,  not  to  a  grade  of  clergy.  Removal  from  office  was  under  the  control  of  the  Church, 
and  when  effected  by  vote  of  the  Church,  was  called  "  deposition,"  —  a  term  which  is  now  ap- 
plied to  degradation  from  the  ministry  itself.  Yet  when  so  performed,  it  was  held  that  it  ought 
not  to  be  done  without  the  advice  and  approbation  of  neighboring  churches  represented  in 
Council.  There  very  soon  arose  the  idea  that  the  relation  was  really  a  contract,  and  that  so  long 
as  both  parties  performed  their  share  of  the  contract,  neither  party  had  a  right  to  break  it ;  and 
when  an  actual  contract  for  support  entered,  this  theory  was  confirmed.  That  the  relation  is  a 
contract,  and  determinable  for  proper  causes,  and  in  a  proper  manner,  all  agree."  —  Rev.  A.  H. 
Quint.    "  Connection  of  Pastor  and  People."     Cong.  Quarterly.    April,  1859.  p.  170. 


200  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

« 

In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  —  we  might  say  in  every  case  in  which  the 
Pastor  is  a  man  of  both  sense  and  piety  —  if  the  state  of  mind  of  the 
majority  of  the  Church  is  a  kind  and  legitimate  one,  and  one  which 
they  ought  to  have ;  such  a  conference  will  be  followed  by  his  resig- 
nation. If  he  lack  evidence,  however,  of  the  truth  of  the  alleged 
facts,  it  may  be  well  for  the  Church,  by  formal  vote  upon  a  resolution 
declaring  them,  to  furnish  that  evidence.  And  if,  admitting  the 
facts,  he  doubts  the  expediency  of  his  resignation  in  consequence,  the 
Church  and  Parish  *  should  then  request  him  to  unite  with  them  in 
submitting  the  matter  of  his  removal  ^  to  the  consideration  and  advice 
of  a  Mutual  Council ;  ^  distinctly  stating  to  him  the  several  reasons 
which  they  propose  to  lay  before  that  Council.^  Should  he  refuse 
thus  to  submit  the  question,  the  Church  and  Parish  may  properly  pro- 
ceed to  call  an  impartial  ex-parte  Council ;°  laying  the  facts  before  it, 

1  "  The  offer  of  a  Mutual  Council,  to  be  effectual,  must  have  been  made  by  virtue  of  author- 
ity from  the  Paz-isA.''— Case  of  Thompson  v.  Rehoboth,  Mass.  Reports,  7  Pickering,  159. 

2  "  When  asked  to  agree  in  a  Mutual  Council,  the  minister  ought  to  have  a  general  state- 
ment of  the  grounds  and  reasons  of  the  call  upon  him  ;  not  in  a  precise  technical  form,  but 
substantially  set  forth,  so  that  he  may  exercise  his  judgment  whether  to  unite  in  a  Council,  or 
not.''— Ibid. 

8  The  following  form  of  Letter  Missive  would  be  appropriate  for  use  under  these  circum- 
etances :  — 

The  Congregational  Church  in to  the  Congregaiional  Church  in ,  sencl- 

eth  Greeting. 
Dear  Brethren; 

Whereas,  unhappily,  a  state  of  things  exists  among  vs  which,  in  the  jvdgment  of 
a  majority  of  this  Church,  and  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Society  connected  therewith,  renders 
it  expedient  that  the  7  elation  between  the  Church  and  its  Pastor  should  be  dissolved  •  we 

affectionately  invite  your  attendance  by  your  Pastor  and  a  Delegate,  at ,  on 

the day  of at o'clock  in  the ,  to  examine  the  fqcts  and  ad- 
vise us  in  the  premises. 

Wishing  you  grace,  mercy,  and  peace, 

We  are  yours  in  the  Gospel, 


Pastor, 


Committee 

of  the 

Church  and 

Society. 


(i)ate,  and  place  of  date.)  

N.  B.     The  other  Churches  invited  to  this  Council  are  the  Church  in ,  JRev. 

Mr. Pastor ;  etc.  etc. 

*■  See  Whitmore  v.  Fourth  Congregational  Society  in  Plymouth,  2  Gray. 
6  In  this  case  the  above  letter  might  be  varied  so  as  to  read  thus  :  — 
WherecLS,  unhappily,  a  state  of  things  exists  among  us  which,  in  the  judgment  of  a 


now    CONGREGATIONALISM    WORKS.  201 

and  asking  its  advice  as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued.^  Such  a  Council, 
as  its  first  act  after  organization,  should  send  a  special  communication 
to  the  Pastor,  informing  him  that  they  are  assembled,  and  inviting  him 
to  make  the  Council  a  mutual  one  by  appearing  before  them,  and  pre- 
sentmg  his  view  of  the  case  on  which  their  judgment  is  desired. 
Should  he  refuse  to  comply  with  their  request,  they  would  then  go  on 
to  obtain  the  completest  view  of  the  facts  possible,  and  base  upon 
them  their  advice  to  those  who  called  them  together.  They  should 
be  careful  to  state  distinctly  the  grounds  on  which  that  advice  is 
founded,  as  the  courts  may  revise  their  action,  and  annul  it  if  those 
grounds  are  not  specified,^  or  seem  to  be  insufficient  to  justify  the 
result.*  They  may  —  if  they  concur  in  the  opinion  arrived  at  by  the 
majority  of  the  Church  —  express  their  solemn  and  decided  convic- 
tion that  the  interests  of  the  cause  of  Christ  as  connected  with  that 
Church  seem  to  them  to  require  a  dissolution  of  the  Pastoral  relation, 
and  may  advise  the  Church  and  Parish  to  urge  again  upon  the  Pas- 
tor the  duty  of  laying  down  his  office.  But  such  a  Council  would 
have  no  right  to  declare  the  pastoral  office  vacant.  Here  again  it 
may  be  repeated,  that  if  the  Pastor  is  a  man  of  sense  and  piety,  he 
will,  in  ninety -nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  immediately  follow  the 
suggestion  of  the  Church  and  Society,  now  backed  by  the  moral 
weight  of  the  solemn  judgment  of  impartial  representatives  of  the 
churches  in  Council  assembled.  He  cannot  be  justified  before  the 
Christian  public,  or  the  world,  if  he  does  not  do  so. 

majority  of  this  Church  and  Society,  renders  it  expedient  that  the  relation  between  ua 
and  our  Pastor  be  dissolved,  yet  he  declines  to  take  action  for  such  dissolution,  and  re- 
fuses to  submit  the  facts  to  a  Mutual  Council  for  advice,  although  such  a  Council  has 
been  asked  for,  in  the  legal  and  usual  manner,  by  the  said  Church  and  Society,  we  affec- 
tionately invite  your  attendance  upon  an  Ex-parte  Council,  by  your  Pastor,  etc.,  etc. 

1  "  If,  in  a  proper  case  for  the  meeting  of  an  Ecclesiastical  Council  to  be  mutually  chosen, 
either  party  should  unreasonably  and  without  good  cause,  refuse  their  concurrence  to  a  mu- 
tual choice,  the  aggrieved  party  may  choose  an  impartial  Council,  and  will  be  justified  in  con- 
forming to  the  result."— Avery  v.  Tyringham,  3  Mass.  160. 

Great  care  should  be  taken  that  the  members  of  such  an  ex-parte  Council  be  such  as  the 
community  will  feel  to  be,  and  the  Pastor  himself  acknowledge  to  be,  able,  candid,  and  impar- 
tial men.  "  In  the  case  of  Thompson  v.  Rehoboth,  a  member  of  a  former  unfavorable  Council 
was  declared  to  be  unqualified  to  serve  again." — Rev.  A.  H.  Quint,  Cong.  Quar.,  1859,  p.  174. 

2  "  They  [the  Council]  find  only  that  some  of  the  charges  were  proved,  without  specifying 
which  of  them.  Now  as  some  of  the  charges  do  not,  of  themselves,  furnish  grounds  of  compul- 
sory removal,  it  may  be,  for  ought  the  record  shows,  that  these  alone  were  proved."  Thomp- 
son V.  Rehoboth.  7  Pick.  159.  In  this  case  the  Court  would  not  allow  parole  evidence  to  be 
introduced  to  show  which  were  the  charges  established  before  the  Council. 

8  See  Stearns  v.  Bedford,  21  Pick.  114. 


202  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

.  But  what  shall  be  done  if  he  is  not  a  man  of  sense  and  piety,  and 
still  obstinately  refuses  to  free  the  Church  from  the  incubus  of  his 
presence  ? 

The  answer  to  this  partly  depends  upon  the  state  of  the  civil  law, 
and  the  decisions  of  the  courts.  We  shall  treat  of  the  matter  as  it  is 
under  Massachusetts  law,  because  it  is  presumed  that  no  State  is  more 
stringent  in  this  regard,  and  therefore  that  whatever  changes  may  be 
needful  to  make  those  processes  which  are  necessary  here  applicable 
elsewhere,  will  be  the  easy  ones  of  omission. 

By  Massachusetts  law,  the  decision  of  a  properly  constituted 
Mutual  Council  —  or  of  such  an  impartial  and  rightly  managed  ex- 
parte  Council,  as  we  have  refen'ed  to  —  that  the  Pastoral  relation 
ought  to  be  dissolved,  would  have  precisely  this  effect ;  namely : 

1.  It  would  not  dissolve  the  contract,  and  of  course  would  not  dis- 
miss the  Pastor.     But, 

2.  It  would,  when  accepted  and  acted  upon  by  the  Church  and 
Society,  legally  justify  them  in  treating  him  as  no  longer  their  Pas- 
tor, and  would  be  a  good  defence  in  law  against  any  suit  which  he 
might  bring  on  a  claim  for  salary  subsequent  to  that  result  of  Council ; 
provided  that  result  has  been  founded  upon  any  reason  which  the 
law  holds  to  be  vaUd  in  such  cases.^ 

3.  Valid  reasons,  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  are  these  three ;  namely : 
(a)  Essential  change  of  doctrinal  belief  and  teaching ;  {b)  Wilful 
neglect  of  duty ;  (c)  Immoral  or  criminal  conduct.  These  are  held 
to  be  good  and  sufficient  grounds  for  forfeiture  of  the  ministerial  re- 
lation, when  fairly  made  out  —  as  being  not  "  occasional  inadverten- 
cies," or  "  imprudencies,"  but  "  of  the  grosser  sort ;  such  as  habitual 
intemperance,  lying,  unchaste  or  immodest  behavior."  ^ 

If,  then,  the  advice  of  Council  has  been  based  upon  these,  or  any 

1  "  The  effect  of  the  orderly  decision  of  a  Mutual  Council,  or  of  a  properly  constituted  Ex- 
parte  Council,  is  simply  this  :  It  does  not.  and  cannot  dissolve  the  contract ;  but  7lt  decision 
is  a  legal  jitstification  of  the  party  adopting  tt.'''—TXe-v.  A.  U  Quint.   Cong    Quar   (1859)  p  179. 

"  The  effect  of  the  advice  of  a  Council  is  nothing  more  then  a  legal  justification  of  the  party 
Tvho.8hall  adopt  it."'— Burr  v   Sandwich,  6  Mass  277 

"  Either  party  conforming  thereto  [that  is,  to  the  fair  result  of  a  fair  Council]  will  be  justi- 
fied."—noUis  street  v.  Pierpont,  7  Metcalf.  495. 

"These  decisions  [of  Councils]  are  not  conclusive  in  all  respects,  as  already  stated,  and  they 
do  not  operate  ex  propno  vigore  as  a  judgment,  but  only  as  a  justification  of  the  party  con» 
forming  to  them  " — Steams  v.  Bedford,  21  Pick    114. 

2  See  Sheldon  v.  Easton,  24  Pick.  281  ■  Burr  v.  Sandwich,  9  Mass.  277,  and  Hollis  Street  v. 
Pierpont,  7  Metcalf,  495. 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  203 

one  of  them,  as  its  strong  reason,  the  Church  and  Society  accepting 
and  acting  on  it,  will  be  practically  freed  by  it  from  any  further  re- 
sponsibility to  the  man  who  has  been  their  Pastor,  and  can,  by  vote, 
declare  the  office  vacant,  and  proceed  to  take  measures  to  till  the 
vacancy. 

But  if  the  advice  of  Council  is  founded  upon  something  less  and 
other  than  these  reasons,  the  legal  relation  will  not  be  affected  by  it. 
The  mere  unacceptableness  of  a  Pastor  to  his  people,  or  his  unpop- 
ularity with  them,  is  not  recognized  in  law,  as,  of  itself,  a  sufficient 
ground  of  removal',  lor  the  law  takes  it  for  granted  that  the  Church 
and  Parish  have  taken  time  to  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  a 
man  before  inducting  him  into  such  a  position.  It  is  distinctly  held 
that  having  "  capriciously  and  causelessly  withdrawn  their  confidence, 
they  cannot  allege  their  own  misconduct,  as  a  ground  for  their  dis- 
charge from  the  contract  which  they  entered  into."  ^ 

But  is  there  no  relief  for  a  Church  and  Parish  who  find  them- 
selves yoked  to  a  Pastor  by  legal  contract,  whose  continuance  they 
— in  their  vast  majority  —  deeply  and  most  conscientiously  feel  to  be 
disastrous  to  their  prosperity ;  whom  they  have  urged  to  retire,  or 
even  to  submit  the  matter  to  the  advice  of  a  Mutual  Council,  in  vain  ; 
and  whose  further  continuance  an  impartial  ex-parte  Council  have 
advised  against  and  deplored ;  yet  who  has  not  been  guilty  of  any 
offence  which  the  law.  as  heretofore  administered  by  the  Massachu- 
setts courts,  would  cognize  as  justifying  them  in  sundering  their  con- 
tract with  him  ? 

We  think  there  is.  In  the  first  place  it  is  our  very  decided  im- 
pression that  a  Parish  which  should  make  the  fair  result  of  a  fair 
Council  advising  their  Pastor's  dismission  on  the  ground  of  general 
and  manifest  unfitness  for  the  proper  filhng  of  his  place  —  on  grounds 
less  than  those  which  the  Courts  have  heretofore  required,  yet  which 
are  morally  and  religiously  sufficient, — their  justification  for  treating 
him  a-s  no  longer  their  Pastor,  would  now  find  themselves  sustained 
by  the  Massachusetts  courts,  in  case  of  his  suit  for  salary.  The 
bench  has  shown  progress  in  the  treatment  of  these  cases.  The  old 
decisions  which  we  have  cited,  were  made  thirty  or  forty  years  ago, 
under  the  former  territorial  Parish  system.   If  we  mistake  not,  there 

1  See  Sheldon  v.  Easton,  24  Pick.  281. 


204  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

has  been  but  one  case  decided  under  the  present  Parish  arrangement, 
and  every  thing  indicates  an  advance  toward  future  decisions  of  a 
more  equitable  and  less  technical  character ;  so  that  we  can  hardly 
doubt  that  a  new  suit  would  gain  a  judgment  sustaining  a  Parish 
against  unreaso7i,  as  well  as  against  heresy,  neglect  of  duty,  or  im- 
morality in  its  Pasior. 

And  even  in  the  failure  of  such  an  expectation,  it  certainly  could 
not  be  the  duty  of  a  Church  and  Parish,  to  sit  down  in  quiet  submis- 
sion to  their  own  suicidco  We  think  that  under  those  peculiar  circum- 
stances, where  the  matter  is  reduced,  by  the  Pastor's  unreason,  to  a 
contest  upon  the  arena  of  bare  legal  right,  a  Parish  would  be  justi- 
fied in  what,  under  other  circumstances  cannot  too  much  be  con- 
demned ;  namely,  such  a  legal  reduction  of  his  salary  as  may  remove 
that  inducement  for  his  persistent  hold  upon  the  contract.  It  will  do 
no  good  to  close  the  meeting-house  against  him,  because  the  Courts 
have  repeatedly  decided  ^  that  the  Pastor  who  holds  himself  at  all 
times  ready  to  discharge  his  legal  duties,  may  lawfully  claim  his  sal- 
ary, even  when  the  *Parish  do  not  allow  him  to  perform  them.  But 
if  a  Pastor  could  be  so  lost  to  all  sense  of  the  decencies  —  not  to  say 
proprieties  —  of  his  position,  as  thus  to  persist  in  inflicting  his  pres- 
ence upon  a  loathing  people,  in  the  face  of  the  advice  of  his  breth- 
ren in  Council ;  we  do  feel  that  his  people  would  be  justified  in  all 
legal  efforts,  by  way  of  reprisals,  to  make  his  position  uncomfortable 
among  them  —  until  he  should  be  driven  to  cut  the  knot  by  his  re- 
luctant resignation.  We  thank  God,  however,  for  the  belief  that 
there  cannot  be  one  Congregational  minister  in  ten  thousand,  who, 
under  any  circumstances  of  sanity,  could  be  brought  to  allow  him- 
self to  be  thus  "an  astonishment,  a  proverb,  and  a  byword'"  on  the 
earth. 

One  word  in  reference  to  that  *  result'  of  Council  which  dismisses  a 
Congregational  Pastor  —  as  in  nearly  all  cases  he  is  dismissed  —  by 
the  mutual  reference  of  the  question  of  duty  for  him,  and  for  his  people, 

1  In  the  case  of  Sheldon  v.  Easton,  before  cited,  the  court  decided  that  the  plaintiff  was  en- 
titled to  his  salary  though  locked  out  of  the  meeting-house,  because  he  h&d  "  at  all  times  been 
ready  to  perform  all  duties  to  them,''  etc  So  the  court  held,  in  Thompson  v.  Rehoboth,  (5 
Pick  470.)  that  Mr  Thompson  was  "a  minister  de facto,  as  well  as  de  jure,  until  lawfully  dis- 
missed ,  and  might  lawfully  claim  his  salary,  on  the  ground  of  service,  notwithstanding  the 
meeting-house  was  shut  against  him."    See  also  Whitney  v.  Brookhouse,  5  Conn  405. 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  205 

to  the  rep  :3sentatives  of  the  neighboring  Churches.  Such  a  '  result  * 
should  contain  — •  always  supposing  just  ground  for  it  in  the  facts  — 
such  an  expression  of  respect  for,  and  confidence  in,  the  Christian 
character  and  ministerial  qualifications  of  the  retiring  Pastor,  as  may- 
be his  credentials  to  any  future  field  of  labor,  and  the  warrant  for  the 
action  of  any  Council  that  may  be  called  to  instal  him  elsewhere.^ 

It  is  sadly  necessary  to  refer  here,  also,  to  the  procedure  proper  by 
a  Church  in  the  possible  case  of  gross  heresy,  or  immorality,  on  the 
part  of  its  Pastor.  By  virtue  of  his  Church-membership  with  them 
—  or,  if  not  that,  by  virtue  of  his  Pastorship  over  them  —  the  un- 
worthy Pastor  of  a  Congregational  Church  is  amenable  to  its  disci- 
pline ;  ^  and  it  has  the  inherent  right  to  proceed  to  his  trial  and 
excommunication,  as  if  he  were  a  private  member.  But  because  the 
fellowship  of  the  churches  was  involved  in  his  settlement,  and  be- 
cause of  the  greater  conclusiveness  before  the  general  public,  of  the 
verdict  of  an  impartial  Council  over  that  of  a  single  Church  —  itself 
deeply  interested ;  this  should  always  be  done  with  the  advice  of 
Council.^ 

The  proper  course  to  be  pursued,  in  the  melancholy  case  supposed, 
would,  then,  be  this:  (1)  all  the  preparatory  steps  should  be  taken 
as  in  the  case  of  a  private  member,  and  the  case  be  brought  to  a 

1  The  following  may  be  regarded  as  a  suitable  common  form  for  such  a  clause  in  this 
'  result : '  — 

In  coming  to  this  result  the  Council  are  able  to  declare,  with  great  satisfaction,  that 
they  have  found  nothing  in  their  investigation  of  the  causes  which  have  led  to  this  dis- 
mission, to  impair  their  confidence  in  the  essential  integrity  of  the  Christian,  or  minis- 
terial, character  of  the  retiring  Pastor ;  whom,  accordingly,  they  hereby  commend  to  the 
confidence  of  the  churches  as — in  their  judgment — an  honest,  faithful,  and  useful 
minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  who  cai-ries  with  him  their  tender  sympathies,  and 
earnest  prayers  for  his  future  prosperity  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  wherever  Providence 
may  assign  his  labors. 

2  "  In  case  an  elder  offend  incorrigibly,  the  matter  so  requiring,  as  the  Church  had  power 
to  call  him  to  oCBce,  so  they  have  power  according  to  order  (the  Council  of  other  churches, 
where  it  may  be  had,  directing  thereto)  to  remove  him  from  his  office,"  etc.,  etc.  — Cambridge 
Platform,  chap.  x.  6. 

See  also,  Cotton  Mather's  Ratio,  Art.  ix,  sec.  2,  p.  162 ;  Sam.  Mather's  Apology,  pp.  80-85 ; 
Cotton's  Keys,  pp.  31-43;  Chauncy's  Divine  Institution,  etc.,  chap.  xii.  sec.  8;  Hutchinson, 
vol.  i  p.  432;  Hooker's  Survey,  Part  iii,  p.  3;  Davenport's  Power,  etc.,  p.  136;  Wise's 
Churches''  Qwarre?,  etc.,  p.  118 ;  Punchard,Tp.  209. 

3  The  forms  of  Letter  Missive  given  on  p.  200.  might  be  used,  without  change,  for  calling 
ruch  a  Council. 


206  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

judgment  before  the  Church ;  (2)  the  Church,  instead  of  passmg 
the  vote  of  excommunication,  should  vote  that  they  are  satisfied  of 
the  truth  of  the  charges,  but,  in  view  of  the  importance  and  solem- 
nity of  the  subject,  will  take  the  advice  of  sister  churches  before  pro- 
ceeding further ;  (3)  they  should  then  invite  their  Pastor  to  join 
them  in  a  Council  to  advise  in  the  premises,  and,  if  he  refuse,  call  one 
without  his  concurrence ;  (4)  this  Council  hears  the  case,  and  if  satisfied 
of  the  Pastor's  guilt,  and  he  remain  obdurate,  or  the  circumstances 
of  the  case  are  so  aggravated  that,  even  if  he  be  now  penitent,  it  is 
unsuitable  for  him  to  retain  his  official  relation,  they  advise  the 
Church  to  depose  him  from  his  ministry  over  them  —  perhaps  to 
excommunicate  him  from  its  fellowship ;  (5)  the  Church,  if  they  see 
fit,  follow  this  advice  of  Council. 

This  we  understand  to  be  the  truly  Scriptural  and  Congregational 
way,  though  most  Consociated  Churches  have  a  different  practice.^ 


Section  5.     Church  and  Parish. 

There  are  three  methods  under  which  the  ordinary  work  of  an 
ecclesiastical  organization  in  any  given  locality  may  be  performed, 
its  offices  be  sustained,  and  its  labors  upon  the  world  around  be  man- 
aged. The  Church,  in  its  pure  simple  New  Testament  sense,  may 
do  the  whole  ;  or  the  Church  acting,  for  all  purposes  of  civil  relation, 
as  an  Ecclesiastical  Society,  or  Parish,  may  do  the  whole ;  or  the 
Church  and  a  distinct  organization  called  an  Ecclesiastical  Society, 
or  Parish,  may  act  together,  on  terms  mutually  agreed  upon.  "Which 
of  these  methods  may  be  best  in  any  specific  case,  must  be  determi- 
nable, in  part,  by  the  law  of  the  State  in  which  the  work  is  to  be 
done. 

(1.)  The  Church,  simply  and  alone.  This  is  the  New  Testament 
plan ;  so  far  as  it  hints  any  plan  at  all.  And  there  is  no  legal  hin- 
drance ^  of  which  we  are  aware  in  any  State,  which  would  neces- 

l   1  See  Mitchell's  Guide,  pp  235,  236.     Also,  Punchard,  p.  316     See  also  p  221. 

2  Churches  —  as  such  —  are  generally  recognized  as  bodies  corporate  ;  either  by  legislative 
enactment,  or  by  common  law,  and  as  such,  it  is  usually  held  that  they  may  hold  property  — 
independently  of  any  Parish  —  for  the  purposes  for  which  they  are  formed.  This  was  the  doc- 
trine in  Massachusetts  until,  in  the  Unitarian  controversy,  it  became  important  for  the  Unita- 
rian interests  to  have  a  different  decision,  and  then,  (as  we  believe,  in  the  face  of  the  precedents 
of  the  past,  and  of  the  jasti;o  cf  the  case,)  Chief  Justice  Parker  decided  that  "  the  only  circum- 


UNIVEESITl 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM    WORKS.     >^     />  ^       2^b-  ^  K  . 

sarily  forbid  any  Church  that  pleases  to  do  so,  from  assuriSt%4he  -"— ^ 
entire  charge  of  its  temporaUties,  building  and  owning  its  own  house 
of  worship,  pledging  and  raising  all  monies  needed  for  the  stated 
support  of  public  worship,  and  doing  all,  that,  in  any  case,  is  done  by 
both  Church  and  Society.^  In  the  West,  particularly,  it  is  beheved 
that  this  plan  has  been  extensively  tried,  and  is  held  to  be  safe,  ex- 
pedient, and  successful.^  In  New  England  there  are  few  instances 
of  its  adoption,  as  the  mixed  Parish  system  here  inherited  from  the 
past  prevails,  and  the  State  laws  are  so  adapted  to  that  method,  as  to 
work  more  kindly  with  it  than  with  any  other.  Where  a  Church  — 
in  any  State  —  desires  to  undertake  the  whole  work,  without  the  co- 
operation of  any  Parish,  it  should,  by  all  means,  consult  some  able 
lawyer  familiar  with  the  State  law,  and  govern  itself,  in  the  minutiai 
of  its  arrangements,  by  his  advice.  No  general  directions  can  be 
given  which  it  would  be  entirely  safe  to  follow,  without  special  regard 
to  local  statutes,  which  may  change  in  any  year. 

(2.)  The  Church  — for  all  secular  purposes  —  acting  as  a  Parish. 
This  would  involve  the  existence  of  a  legally  formed  "  Society,"  or 
Parish,  whose  constitution  should  identify  its  membership  with  that 
of  the  Church.  The  result  would  be,  that  the  same  individuals  would 
constitute  both  the  Church  and  Society,  and,  when  acting  in  one 
form,  and  under  one  set  of  By-laws,  would  be  the  Church,  and,  when 

stance  which  gives  a  Church  any  legal  character,  is  its  connection  with  some  regularly  consti- 
tuted Society  "  [See  Dedliam  case.  Mass  Reports,  Vol.  xvi.  p.  505,  etc.]  This  decision  has 
never  been  acquiesced  in  by  Massachusetts  Congregationalists,  and  never  will  be  ;  and  it  is 
hardly  too  much  to  say  that  there  can  be  little  doubt  of  its  being  overruled  whenever  any  new 
case  shall  bring  the  matter  before  the  bench. 

On  the  general  subject,  consult  '■'■Legal  rights  of  Churches  and  Parishes,''''  in  the  appendix  to 
Upham's  Ratio.  DisciplincR,  p.  317  ;  Mass.  Reports,  Burr  v.  Sandwich,  and  Baker  v.  Fales  ;  and 
Dr.  Pond's  MSS.  "  Rights  of  Congregational  Churches  in  their  connection  with  Parishes,'''  in  the 
custody  of  the  Congregational  Library  Association.  Especially  read  the  argument  of  Hon. 
Lewis  Strong,  in  the  Brookfield  case,  Pickering,  vol.  x.  p.  172,  etc. 

1  We  presume  such  a  course  must  involve  an  assumption  on  the  part  of  the  Church  of  the 
entire  pecuniary  responsibility  (without  reliance  upon  any  systematic  aid  from  non-church- 
members)  and  —  in  some  of  the  States  —  a  relinquishment,  on  the  part  of  both  Church  and 
Pastor,  of  some  legal  safeguards ;  to  the  end  of  a  more  entire  dependence  upon  the  Christian 
lionor  of  all  parties. 

2  "  There  are,  at  this  moment,  hundreds  of  Congregational  churches  in  different  parts  of  our 
land,  which  have  no  connection  w^th  incorporate  parishes,  or  religious  societies,  and  never  had 
any.  Some  of  these  churches  are  in  the  cities  and  in  the  older  States,  others  are  in  the  newly 
settled  parts  of  our  country.  They  own  their  meeting-houses  ;  they  settle  and  support  their 
ministers  ;  they  exist  and  they  flourish  without  the  help  or  the  hindrance  of  connected 
Parishes."  Dr.  Pond's  "  Rights  of  Cong.  Churches,''''  etc.,  cited  above.  See  also,  an  article  by 
Rev.  II.  M.  Storrs,  [in  the  Cong.  Quar.,  for  ISGO,  (vol.  ii.)  pp.  S'^S-SSO],  on  "  Church  and  So- 
ciety."    See  also  the  [Kansas]  Congregational  Record,  for  Oct.,  1859,  pp.  65-68. 


208  C0NGREGATI0NALIS3I. 

acting  in  another  form,  and  under  another  set  of  By-laws,  would  be 
the  Parish.  The  only  object  of  such  an  opus  operatum  would  be  to 
bring  the  proper  secular  work  of  a  Parish  technically  under  some 
State  law,  while  still  retaining  it  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the 
membership  of  the  Church. 

(3.)  Church  and  Parish.  This  is  the  Massachusetts  method,  and 
grew  out  of  the  peculiar  history  of  its  religious  affairs.  Originally, 
none  but  church-members  were  citizens,^  so  that  the  town-meetings 


1  "  To  the  end  the  body  of  the  comons  may  be  pserued  of  honest  &  good  men,  it  was  likewise 
ordered  and  agreed  that  for  time  to  come  noe  man  shalbe  admitted  to  the  freedome  of  this 
body  poUiticke,  but  such  as  are  members  of  some  of  the  churches  within  the  lymitts  of  the 
same."  — (May  18,  1631,)  Records  of  the  Colony  of  Mass.  Bay,  vol.  i.  p.  87. 

The  Connecticut  Colony  passed  a  similar  law,  May  19, 1643.  See  Felt.  Ecclesiastical  History 
of  New  England,  yol.i.  T?.  517. 

This  fundamental  principle  explains  the  law  passed  at  Newc'  Towne  [Cambridge],  March  3, 
1635-36,  as  follows  :  — 

"  Forasmuch  as  it  hath  bene  found  by  sad  experience,  that  much  trouble  and  disturbance 
hath  happened  both  to  the  church  &  civill  state  by  the  officers  &  members  of  some  churches, 
wch  have  bene  gathered  within  the  limits  of  this  jurisdiccon  in  an  rndue  manner  &  not  with 
Buch  publique  approbacon  as  were  meete,  it  is  therefore  ordered  that  all  psons  are  to  take 
notice  that  this  Court  doeth  not,  nor  will  hereafter,  approue  of  any  such  companyes  of  men  as 
shall  heuceforthe  ioyne  in  any  pretended  way  of  church  fellowshipp,  without  they  shall  first 
acquainte  the  magistrates,  &  the  elders  of  the  greatr  pte  of  the  churches  in  thi.s  jurisdiccon, 
with  their  intencons,  &  have  their  approbacon  herein.  And  ffurther,  it  is  ordered,  that  noe 
pson,  being  a  member  of  any  churche  which  shall  hereafter  be  gathered  without  the  appro- 
bacon of  the  magistrates  &  the  greater  pte  of  the  said  churches,  shall  be  admitted  to  the  ffree- 
dome  of  this  comonwealthe.'' — Records  of  Col.  of  Mass.  Bay,  vol.  i.  p.  168. 

"  Whereas  the  way  of  God  hath  always  beene  to  gather  his  churches  out  of  the  world,  now 
the  world,  or  civill  state,  must  be  raised  out  of  the  churches." — John  Winthrop.  Reply  to 
Vane''s  Answer,  etc. 

"  None  are  so  fit  to  be  trusted  with  the  liberties  of  the  commonwealth  as  church-members  ; 
for  the  liberties  of  the  freemen  of  this  commonwealth  are  such  as  require  men  of  faithful  in- 
tegrity to  God  and  the  State,  to  preserve  the  same."— John  Cotton.  Answer  to  Lord  Say  and 
Seal,  etc.    Hutchinson,  vol.  i.  p.  436. 

*'  Viewed  from  whatever  point  of  observation,  the  civil  power  during  those  early  years  was 
only  a  convenient,  or  perhaps  we  should  call  it  a  necessary,  arrangement  whereby  a  company 
of  intelligent  and  pious  people  grouped  into  a  number  of  affiliated  churches,  were  working  out 
a  great  religious  problem." — Clark's  Congregational  Churches  in  Mass.,  p.  68. 

"  The  English  Magna  Charta  restricted  the  right  of  suffrage  in  the  choice  of  their  own  rep- 
resentatives in  the  Commons  to  freeholders.  Puritanism  restricted  the  right  of  suffrage  to 
Christians.  It  tried  to  evolve  a  State  out  of  a  Church.  There  have  been  many  more  fanciful, 
many  less  inspiring  aims  than  this,  proposed  in  the  great  schemes  of  men."— JVortA  American 
Review,  vol.  Ixxxiv.  p.  453. 

"  The  conception,  if  a  delusive  and  impracticable,  was  a  noble  one.  Nothing  better  can  be 
imagined  for  the  welfare  of  a  country  than  that  it  shall  be  ruled  on  Christian  principles  ;  in 
other  words  that  its  rulers  shall  be  Christian  men  —  men  of  disinterestedness  and  integrity  of 
the  choicest  quality  that  the  world  knows,  — men  whose  fear  of  God  exalts  them  above  every 
other  fear,  and  whose  controlUng  love  of  God  and  of  man,  consecrates  them  to  the  most  gener- 
ous aims.  The  conclusive  objection  to  the  scheme  is  one  which  experience  had  not  yet  re- 
vealed, for  the  experiment  was  now  first  made."— Palfrey.    Hist.  New  England,  vol.  i.  p.  345. 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  209 

were  just  church-meetings  in  another  form,  and  the  "General  Court" 
but  a  delegated  mass  meeting  of  the  churches.  Then  the  churches 
not  only  chose  their  own  ministers,  but  contracted  with  and  supported 
them,  and  built  and  owned  their  meeting-houses  and  parsonages; 
assessing  and  collecting  money  for  the  same,  not  merely  of  church- 
members,  but  of  others.  A  few  years  later,  the  towns  were  expressly 
authorized  to  assess  and  collect  church  dues  like  other  taxes.^  When, 
after  1665,  other  than  church-members  were  admitted  to  citizenship,^ 
the  towns  still  continued  to  act  as  Parishes  for  the  support  of  the 
minister,  while  the  Church  had  the  sole  voice  in  his  selection ;  until 
the  "  Parish  controversy  "  arose,  which,  after  being  carried  through 
1692-5,  resulted  in  arranging  a  concurrent  action  between  the  town 
as  a  Parish,  and  the  Church,  in  such  elections.*  Subsequently — in 
1833  —  after  long  effort  on  the  part  of  those  who  felt  aggrieved  by 
the  law  as  it  stood,  an  act  was  passed  severing  all  connection  between 
Church  and  State,  and  introducing  the  voluntary  system.  The  result 
of  this  was  to  organize  the  present  Parish  system,  in  place  of  the  old, 
by  which  the  body  of  male  worshippers  —  under  such  restrictions  as 
may  be  agreed  upon,  (as  pew-holders,  or  as  subjects  of  election  by 
vote,  or  in  some  other  way)  —  becomes  thus  associated  to  carry  for- 
ward the  secular  affairs  of  the  enterprise,  in  a  way  of  amicable  co- 
operation with  the  Church. 

This  general  plan,  having  thus  a  basis  in  our  history,  and  existing 
laws,  still  remains  the  usual  New  England  method ;  having  some 
obvious  advantages  and  disadvantages,^  but  likely  —  in  virtue  of  pre- 


"  The  Church  instructed  the  town,  and  the  town  provided  for  the  Church." — Newman's 
Rekohotk  in  the  Past,  p  16. 

1  The  usual  conditions  on  which  early  grants  of  townships  were  made,  were  that  a  suflacient 
quantity  of  land  be  reserved  for  the  use  of  a  gospel  ministry,  and  of  a  school. — See  Washburn's 
History  of  Leicester,  Mass.,  p.  9. 

Johnson  in  his  Wonderworking  Providence  (A.  D.  1654),  says  that  "  it  being  as  unnatural  for  a 
right  New  England  man  to  live  without  an  able  ministry,  as  for  a  smith  to  work  his  iron  with- 
out a  fire,''  therefore,  the  people  delayed  "seating  themselves  "  in  a  town  estate,  until  they 
"  came  to  hopes  of  a  competent  number  of  people  as  might  be  able  to  maintain  a  minister.'' 
(P-  177.) 

A  "meeting-house  place  "  was  usually  nearly  the  central  lot  upon  the  ground-plan  of  the 
town,  and  among  the  first  town  votes  involving  expenditure  were  usually  those  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  meeting  house,  and  the  support  of  a  pastor. 

2  See  Records  of  the  Colony  of  Mass.  Bay,  vol.  iv.  part  ii.  pp.  117, 118. 

3  See  Christian  Examiner,  1830,  p.  3. 

*  The  general  ill  result  of  the  old  town  parish  system  is  well  stated  by  Rev.  Jacob  Scales  of 
Plainfield,  N.  H.,  who  says,  after  describing  the  fortunes  of  the  Church  in  Ilenniker,  N.  H., 

14 


210  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

cedent,  if  nothing  more  —  to  hold  its  own  for  the  present  here. 
Several  particulars  may  be  usefully  noted,  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  desire  to  know  the  methods  usually  pursued  under  it. 

(a.)  Organization  of  a  Parish.  State  law  must  always  be  con- 
sulted, to  avoid  any  fatal  informality.  Some  specific  form  of  public 
notice  is  required.  In  Massachusetts,  Articles  of  Association  should 
be  signed,  and  public  notice  given  and  filed  with  the  town,  or  city 
clerk,  and  County  Register,  in  which  some  person  is  authorized  to 
call  the  first  meeting  of  the  Corporators.^  The  first  meeting  must  be 
held  in  rigid  conformity  to  this  notice.  In  New  York,  trustees  — 
from  three  to  nine  —  chosen  in  a  specified  manner,  hold  the  Parish 
property ;  in  their  corporate  name  can  sue  and  be  sued  ;  have  power 
to  build,  repair,  and  alter,  the  meeting-house  (and  parsonage)  ;  may 
make  rules  for  managing  the  temporal  affairs  of  the  Society ;  may 
dispose  of  its  income  at  their  judgment,  and  regulate  the  prices  and 
order  the  renting,  of  the  pews  —  but  have  not  power  to  fix  the 
amount  of  the  Pastor's  salary,  which  is  determinable  by  a  majority 
of  legal  voters  at  a  meeting  called  for  that  purpose.^ 

{b.)  By-laws  of  a  Parish,  etc.  The  first  work  of  such  a  Parish 
after  organization  would  be  the  adoption  of  some  appropriate  code  of 

"  A  Toluntary  society,  united  in  the  bonds  of  love  to  the  truth,  is  the  main  pillar  of  Congrega- 
tionalism. The  old  bonds  formed  by  town  lines,  pressed  together  by  an  equal  regard  to  the 
welfare  of  the  inharbitants  of  every  class,  and  of  every  age.  may  be  firm  and  strong  for  some 
uses.  But  though  they  may  secure  a  convenient  atteDtion  to  many  tempoasil  things,  they 
uniformly  fail  in  regard  to  those  which  relate  to  spiritual  and  everlasting  int/3rests.''—MSS. 
History  of  Cong,  in  Henniker,  N.  if.,  in  custody  of  Cong.  Library  Association,  (p.  23  ) 

On  the  general  subject,  consult  "Rights  of  Churches  v.  Parishes,"  Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims^ 
vol.  i.  pp.  57-74,,  113-140  ;  "  Difficulties  in  Parishes,"  [by  Rev.  Dr.  Walker]  Christian  Exami^ 
ner,  vol.  ix.  pp.  1-20  ;  "  Life  and  Times  of  Rev.  Isaac  Backus,"  pp.  158-264. 

1  The  following  are  "  Articles  of  Association  "  actually  used  for  this  purpose  in  a  recent 
case. 

The  undersigned,  all  of ,  in  the  County  of ,  in  the  Commonwealth  cf 

,  do  hereby  associate  ourselves  together,  under  the  name  of  the  " Congre- 
gational Society,"  as  a  Parish,  or  religious  society,  at  said ;  and  the  purposes 

for  which  this  corporation  is  established  are  the  support  of  thepiiblic  icorsJiip  of  God, 
and  the  promotion  of  Christian  knowledge,  and  charity,  according  to  the  general  usages 
of  the  Congregational  Churches,  and  Parishes,  of  Massachusetts. 

Mr. ,  is  authorized  to  call  the  first  meeting  of  the  corporation. 

(Vote.)  Signed. 


,  etc  ,  etc. 

2  See  Digest  of  New  York  Ecclesiastical  Laws,  published  with  the  Manual  of  the  Plymouth 
Church,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y..  pp.  27-29. 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM   WOKKS.  211 

By-laws,  to  regulate  its  future  action ;  ^  after  which  it  would  proceed 
to  the  election  of  the  officers  which  those  By-laws  require,  in  the 

1  The  following  are  By-laws  adopted  for  the  government  of  one  of  the  more  recently  formed 
Societies  in  Massachusetts,  and  are  believed  suitably  to  cover  all  points  needed  to  be  met  in 
such  a  code. 

BY-LAWS  OF  THE  CONGREGATIONAL  SOCIETY. 

This  Society  shall  consist  of  the  persona  who  signed  the  call  for  its  organization ;  of  those 
who,  by  special  ballot,  may  become  associated  with  them,  until  the  erection  of  a  meeting- 
house ;  and  of  those  who  shall  hereafter  become  owners  of  pews  in  the  meeting-house. 

n. 

The  following  officers  and  standing  committees  shall  be  chosen  annually,  by  ballot :  — 

1.  Officers. —First,  a  Clerk,  who  shall  be  sworn  to  keep  the  records  of  the  Society,  notify 
its  regular  meetings,  and  preside  at  all  meetings,  till  a  moderator  be  chosen. 

Second,  a  Treasurer,  who  shall  issue  the  bills  of  rent  or  taxes  on  pews,  take  charge  of  all 
moneys  belonging  to  the  Society,  disburse  the  same  only  under  the  direction  of  the  Prudential 
Committee,  and  report  to  the  Society  at  the  annual  meeting. 

Third,  an  Auditor,  who  shall  examine  the  Treasurer's  accounts. 

2.  Standing  Committees.  —  First,  a  Prudential  Committee,  consisting  of  five  persons,  to  take 
charge  of  the  meeting-house  owned  or  occupied  by  the  Society  ;  to  make  such  repairs  as,  from 
time  to  time,  may  be  necessary  ;  to  provide  for  warming  and  lighting  the  house  and  chapel ; 
to  appoint  the  Sexton,  fix  his  salary,  perquisites,  and  duties  ;  and  generally  to  attend  to  the 
concerns  of  the  Society,  with  authority  to  expend  such  sums  of  money  as  are  not  specially  ap- 
propriated by  the  Society. 

Second,  a  Committee,  consisting  of  the  Treasurer  and  two  other  persons,  to  sell  and  let  pews 
and  sittings. 

Third,  a  Committee,  consisting  of  two  persons,  to  superintend  the  music,  on  the  part  of  the 
Society,  to  act  jointly  with  a  Committee  of  three  persons,  to  be  chosen  for  this  purpose,  on  the 
part  of  the  Church  ;  said  Committee  to  expend  only  such  sums  of  money  as  may  be  appro- 
priated for  the  purpose  by  the  Prudential  Committee. 

m. 

The  annual  meeting  for  the  choice  of  officers  and  standing  committees  shall  be  held  in  the 

month  of . 

rv. 

Every  member  of  the  Society  shall  be  entitled  to  one  vote  ;  but  no  person,  and  no  pew,  shall 
be  entitled  to  n?ore  than  one  vote,  on  any  occasion.  • 

V. 

The  taxes  on  pews  shall  be  collected  quarterly  in  the  months  of , , ,  and , 

of  each  year. 

VI. 

The  deeds  of  pews  shall  be  given  on  such  terms  as  the  Society  shall  direct,  and  shall  be  signed 
bv  the  Treasurer,  countersigned  by  the  Clerk,  and  sealed  with  the  corporate  seal  of  the  Society, 
which  the  Treasurer  is  authorized  to  affix. 

Vll. 

The  Pastor  and  Deacons  of  the Church,  for  the  time  being,  shall  grant  the  use  of  the 

meeting-house  as  they  may  judge  expedient,  for  all  religious  meetings  properly  so  called  ;  but 
for  all  other  meetings  and  purposes,  the  right  to  grant  the  use  of  it  shall  rest  with  the  Pru- 
dential Committee. 

VIU. 

The  Clerk  shall,  on  application  made  to  him,  in  writing,  by  any  five  fegal  voters  in  the  So- 
ciety, warn  a  special  meeting  thereof,  by  causing  notice  of  the  time  and  place  of  such  meeting 
to  be  given  from  the  pulpit  on  the  Sabbath,  or  by  sending  written  or  printed  notices  of  the 


212  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

manner  which  they  fix,  and  in  all  things  shape  its  future  course  by 
them. 

(c.)  Rules  for  joint  action  of  the  Church  and  Parish.  These  will 
be  next  in  order  of  adoption  after  the  Parish  is  fully  organized. 
They  should  be  brief,  and  simple,  yet  sutiicient  to  prevent  any  possi- 
ble misunderstanding  or  collision  between  the  two  bodies.^ 

The  question  sometimes  arises  as  to  the  status  of  a  Pastor  concern- 
ing whom  a  difference  of  opinion  exists  between  the  Church  and  the 
Parish,  to  that  degree  that  the  Parish  vote  to  terminate  his  relation, 
while  the  Church  have  taken  no  action  in  regard  to  it ;  such  a  contin- 
gency being   usually  unprovided   for  in   any  rules  of  joint  action. 

same  to  each  pew-proprietor ;  notice,  in  one  of  these  ways,  to  be  given  at  least  seven  days 
before  the  meeting.  The  notice  of  a  special  meeting  shall,  in  all  cases,  specify  the  particular 
business  for  which  the  meeting  is  called. 

IX. 

No  alteration  shall  be  made  in  these  By-laws,  unless  the  same  shall  be  agreed  to  by  two  thirds 
of  the  members  of  the  Society  present,  at  a  special  meeting  regularly  notified  for  that  pur- 
pose. 
1  The  following  is  a  form  in  use  in  a  recently  formed  Massachusetts  Parish : 

RULES  FOR  JOINT  ACTION  OF   THE CUURCn  AND   SOCIETY, 

I. 

Whenever  the Church  and  Society  shall  be  destitute  of  a  settled  Pastor,  and  a  new 

one  is  to  be  obtained,  a  joint  Committee  of  the  Church  and  Society,  consisting  of  seven  persons, 
of  whom  four  shall  be  chosen  by  the  Church  and  three  by  the  Society,  shall  provide  a  supply 
for  the  Pulpit,  and  take  all  necessary  measures  to  that  end.  The  Church  shall  have  the  right, 
in  all  cases,  to  select  a  Pastor  (or  Colleague  Pastor,  when  it  may  be  deemed  expedient  by  the 
Church  and  Society  to  settle  a  Colleague  Pastor),  to  be  proposed  to  the  Society  for  its  concur- 
rence. If  it  shall  concur  in  said  selection  with  the  Church,  a  call  shall  be  given  by  the 
Church  and  Society  jointly,  to  the  person  selected  ;  but  if  the  Society  do  not  concur  in  the  selec- 
tion, the  Church  shall  select  again,  and  so  again,  from  time  to  time,  until  the  Church  and 
Society  shall  agree  in  a  choice,  and  when  so  agreed,  a  call  shall  be  given  to  the  person  so  select- 
ed, by  the  Church  and  Society  aa  stated  above ;  that  is,  jointly. 

n. 
The  amount  of  salary  to  be  given  to  the  Pastor  shall  be  fixed  by  the  Society. 

III. 
Temporary  supply  of  the  pulpit,  during  the  absence  or  sickness  of  the  Pastor,  shall  be  pro- 
vided by  the  Pastor  and  Deacons  of  the  Church,  and  the  bills  of  necessary  expenses  incurred 
for  that  purpose  shall  be  submitted  to  the  Prudential  Conmiittee  of  the  Society,  and,  when  ap- 
proved by  them,  shall  be  paid  by  the  Treasurer.  By  the  word  "  Church  "  herein  before  used, 
is  meant  all  male  members  of  the  Church  in  good  and  regular  standing,  of  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  and  upwards. 

rv. 
A  Committee  to  regulate  the  matter  of  singing  and  of  Church  music  shall  be  appointed  jomtly 
by  the  Church  and  Society  (annually),  three  persons  by  the  former,  and  two  by  the  latter. 

V. 

No  alteration  shall  be  made  in  these  rules,  on  the  part  of  either  Church  or  Society,  unleps 
the  same  shall  be  agreed  to  by  two  thirds  of  the  members  of  each,  present  at  special  meetings, 
regularly  notified  for  that  purpose. 


HOW  CONGREGATIONALISM    WORKS.  213 

Several  cases  have  arisen  under  the  uncongregational  and  inexpedi- 
ent "three"  or  "six  months  notice  system,"^  where  the  Parish  have 
o-iven  the  "  notice,"  witliout  immediate  concurrent  action  on  the  part 
of  the  Church. 

It  is  obvious,  to  a  moment's  thought,  that  the  power  of  the  Parish 
thus  to  terminate  the  contract,  must  depend  entirely  on  the"  terms 
of  settlement.  If  the  Pastor  was  settled  in  the  old,  and  ordinary  man- 
ner, such  a  vote  of  theirs  is  not  worth  the  paper  on  which  it  is 
written.^  If  he  was  settled  on  the  "  three  "  or  "  six  months  notice  " 
plan,  their  vote  —  if  the  terms  of  the  notice  are  properly  compHed 
with  —  does  ultimate  his  legal  relation  to  them,  and  terminate  his 
claim  for  salary  ;  and  must  almost  inevitably  draw  after  it,  sooner  or 
later,  such  action  on  the  part  of  the  Pastor  and  the  Church,  as  shall 
complete  the  severance.® 

Section  6.     Councils, 
An  Ecclesiastical  Council  is  a  meeting  of  churches  by  their  dele- 
gates, assembled  in  response  to  the  invitation  of  a  Church  —  or  of  an 

1  See  p.  144.  2  gee  pp.  203,  204. 

3  In  the  year  1829,  Rev  S.  Nott,  Jr.,  was  settled  over  the  Congregational  Church  in  Ware- 
ham,  Mass.,  the  Parish  voting  that  "  the  conditions  under  which  the  Parish  agree  to  settle  Mr, 
Nott,  are  that  Mr.  Nott  shall  have  the  liberty  of  dissolving  the  contract  by  giving  the  Parish  six 
month's  notice,  and  the  Parish  reserve  the  liberty  of  dissolving  the  contract  by  giving  Mr. 
Nott  six  month's  notice."  On  the  7th  March,  1842,  the  Parish,  regularly  convened,  voted  to 
give  Mr.  Nptt,  "  notice  that  his  connection  with  said  Pariah  be  dissolved  at  the  end  of  six 
months  from  this  date." 

Concerning  this,  Messrs.  Zechariah  Eddy  and  Timothy  G.  Coflan  —  then  the  two  ablest  lawyers 
of  Southern  Massachusetts  (the  former  a  hearty,  devout,  and  eminent  Congregationalist)  — 
said,  in  giving  a  legal  opinion  upon  the  matter,  —  "  Thus  aU  legal  civil  relation  between  them, 
was  at  an  end.  There  was  an  ecclesiastical  relation  still  remaining,  which  has  indeed  a  very 
slight  hold  upon  the  Parish,  being  nothing  but  what  the  law  of  courtesy  and  Congregational 
usage  provide  for  the  benefit  of  a  Pastor  who  leaves  his  people,  in  order  that  his  ministerial  and 
Christian  character  may  not  be  thereby  injuriously  affected.  .  .  .  The  Pansh  have  no  reason 
to  wish  for  an  Ecclesiastical  Council,  in  a  case  like  this,  when  the  contract  for  settlement  is 
dissolved  in  pursuance  of  their  express  agreement  with  him,  and  if  he  does  waive,  or  sus- 
pend, his  request  for  a  Council,  no  law,  human  or  divine,  will  allow  a  man  to  obtain  an  advan- 
tage from  his  own  negligence  o^  neglect If  he  made  an  agreement  which  dispensed 

with  the  action  of  the  Church,  the  Church  may  complain,  but  he  is  estopped,  and  his  mouth 

is  shut It  has  been  said  that  an  act  of  the  Church,  assenting  to  the  vote  of  the  Parish, 

was  necessary  Not  so,  in  respect  to  this  civil,  or  legal,  connection."—  See  "  Legal  Opinion." 
April  30,  1845,  pp  189-192.  Sixteen  Years  Preaching  and  Procedure  at  Wareham,  Sfc.  Boston, 
1845 

See  also  the  2d  Article  In  the  result  of  the  Manchester  (Mass.)  Council,  Dec,  9, 1857,  dismiss- 
ing Rev  Rufus  Taylor  —  where  it  was  held  that  his  civil  contract  was  terminated  by  his  uncon- 
ditional resignation  to  the  Parish  of  April  22d  previous,  and  their  acceptance  of  the  same  on 
the  6th  of  May  ;  while  be  remained  the  undismissed  Pastor  of  the  Church  up  to  the  Result  of 
Council  reached  on  the  16th  Dec.  1857  —See  Congregationalist^  Jan.  1, 1858. 


214  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

aggrieved  individual  member  whom  his  Church  has  (apparently  with- 
out sufficient  reason)  refused  to  join  in  such  an  invitation  —  where 
either  light  or  peace  is  desired,  to  consider  some  matter  of  common 
concernment,  and  give  advice  thereon.*  The  fundamental  idea  of  a 
Council  is  an  outgrowth  from  that  of  the  fellowship  of  the  churches  ; 
and  the  necessity  of  Councils  grows  not  out  of  any  want  of  power  in 
each  Church  to  decide  finally  upon  its  own  affairs,  but  from  the  desire 
of  each  so  to  order  its  doings  as  to  satisfy,  and  secure  the  fraternal  con- 
fidence and  cooperation  of,  all.  The  following  points,  it  is  believed, 
cover  all  matters  of  practical  inquiry  concerning  the  calling  and  or- 
dering of  these  bodies. 

(1.)  Who  may  call  a  Council  f  A  Church  must  always  be  the 
party  moving  to  call  a  Council ;  2  with  the  two  exceptions  of  the  for- 
mation of  a  Church,  Avhen  the  individuals  desiring  to  become  the 
Church  call  it,  and  of  an  Ex-jparte  Council,  where  an  aggrieved 
member  expressly  bases  his  call  upon  the  fact  that  he  has  asked  his 
Church  to  convoke  a  Mutual  Council,  and  has  met  with  what  he  con- 
ceives to  be  an  unjust  refusal  to  do  so.  The  reason  of  this  rule  is 
the  simple  one  that  the  Christian  community  cannot  hold  itself  bound 
to  interfere,  in  cases  of  private  difficulty,  with  the  proper  business  of 
a  Church.  Where  two  members  disagree,  it  is  the  duty  of  tlieir 
Church  to  reconcile  them  ;  and  only  when  difficulties  surmount  the 
wisdom  of  a  Church,  so  as  to  give  it  a  claim  upon  the  collective  wis- 
dom of  its  sister  churches,  can  attention  be  rightly  called  toward 
them  from  without  If,  then,  at  any  time,  any  member,  or  members, 
feel  that  the  advice  of  a  Council  is  needed,  they  should  ask  their 
Church  to  call  one  together.  In  most  cases  where  there  is  sufficient 
wan-ant  for  such  a  procedure,  the  Church  will  accede  to  their  re- 
quest. Should  it,  however,  arbitrarily  and  unjustly  refuse  to  do  so, 
those  aggrieved  brethren  have,  then,  the  right  to  invite  an  Ex-parte 
Council  —  in  form  and  manner  as  will  subsequently  appear. 

(2.)  How  a  Council  is  called'^  In  the  ordinary  cases  of  calling 
ordaining,  and  dismissing  Councils,  it  is  usual  for  the  Church  to  ap- 

1  See  page  3.    Also,  particularly,  pp.  59-6. 

2  "  A  party  in  a  Church  complaining  of  another  party,  cannot  demand  of  the  other  to  join 
in  calling  a  Council ;  nor  can  the  two  together  call  one  ;  but  they  can  bring  matters  directly 
before  their  Church ;  and  if  that  Church  sees  fit,  it  can  call  a  Council  to  advise  as  to  its  inter- 
nal difiiculties.   A  Church  muBt,  in  all  cases,  be  a  party  concerned." — Rev.  A.  H.  Quint.   Cong. 

Quar.,  vol.  ii.  p.  54. 


now    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  215 

point  a  Committee  to  select  the  churches  to  be  invited,  and  the  form 
of  the  letter  of  invitation.  These  are  reported  to  the  Church,  and 
if  adopted  the  letters  are  then  signed  by  the  Committee,  and  sent 
to  the  selected  churches.  In  case  of  difficulty,  it  is  usual  for  each 
party  in  difference  to  select  one  half  of  the  churches  ^  —  sometimes 
both  parties  uniting  upon  one  Church,  whose  pastor  it  is  understood 
would  be  acceptable  to  all  as  moderator.^ 

In  a  case  of  difficulty  where  members  feel  aggrieved  by  Church 
action,  and  have  tried,  in  vain,  to  persuade  the  Church  to  take  action 
for  a  Mutual  Council,  those  members  may  then  proceed  themselves 
to  send  out  Letters  Missive  for  an  Ex-parte  Council;  stating  the 
case  briefly  and  fairly,  and  especially  recounting  their  unavailing  en- 
deavor for  a  Mutual  Council. 

(3.)  Letters  Missive.  These  have  the  same  relation  to  the  action 
of  the  Council  that  the  "  warrant "  has  to  that  of  a  town-meeting. 
They  furnish  the  authority  on  which  the  Council  meets ,  define  its 
membership,  and  limit  its  powers.2  The  Council,  when  assembled, 
has  no  power  to  invite  any  man  to  sit  in  consultation  with  it,  who 
was  not  invited  by  the  party  calling  the  Council ;  no  right  to  exclude 
the  delegates  of  an  invited  Church  ;  and  no  right  to  consider  and 
offer  advice  upon  any  subject  not  fairly  embraced  in  the  terms  of  the 
Letter  Missive. 

1  Sometimes,  in  instances  of  bitter  feeling  spreading  over  the  adjacent  community,  it  has 
been  thought  wise  to  secure  impartiality  by  selecting  churches  mainly  from  a  distance,  who 
must  necessarily  be,  in  great  part,  strangers  to  the  place,  the  persons,  and  the  perplexity. 

2  In  such  a  case  the  Council  would  be  under  no  obligation  to  be  governed  by  this  fact  in 
their  selection  of  their  moderator,  yet  — if  no  special  objection  were  in  the  way  —  such  a  course 
would  be  both  natural  and  expedient. 

3  For  a  suitable  form  of  Letter  Missive  for  the  organization  of  a  Church,  see  page  164  ;  for 
one  suitable  to  an  Ordaining,  or  Installing  Council,  see  page  171 ;  for  one  proper  for  an  ordi- 
nary Dismissing  Council,  see  page  200  ;  for  an  Ex-parte  Council,  see  page  201. 

The  following  would  be  a  correct  form  for  calling  a  Mutual  Council  in  a  case  of  Church  dif- 
ficulty not  connected  directly  with  the  dismission  of  the  Pastor,  viz :  — 
The  Congregational   Church  in to  the  Congregational  Church  in send- 

eth  greeting  • 
Dear  Brethren : 

Difficulties  haning  arisen  between  the  Pastor  and  some  of  the  members  of  this 
Church  \or  hetween  various  members  of  this  Church]  [or  between  the  Church  and  A. 
B.,  a  member  feeling  himself  aggrieved  and  injured  by  Church  action]  for  the  adjust- 
ment ofiohich  we  desire  your  Christian  Council,  this  is  to  request  your  attendance,  by 

your  Pastor  and  a  delegate,  at on  the of at o'clock  in  the 

to  advise  us  on  the  following  points,  viz: 

[here  state  every  material  question  on  which  light  is  desired.] 


216  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

(4.)  QiLorum.  The  common  sense  rule  is  that  a  present  majority 
of  all  having  the  right  of  membership,  constitutes  a  quorum.  Thus, 
if  ten  churches  have  been  invited  to  send  each  a  pastor  and  delegate, 
eleven  members  would  constitute  a  quorum.  If  two  of  those  churches 
have  no  pastors,  and  have  not  been  invited  to  send  delegates  in  their 
place ;  ten  would  constitute  a  quorum.  It  would  be  better  to  make  a 
present  majority  of  the  churches  sent  to,  the  basis  of  a  quorum,  pro- 
vided a  return  was  also  made  to  the  old  way  of  voting  by  churches  ; 
but  until  the  latter  is  done,  the  former  would  not  be  just. 

(5.)  Organization.  The  simple  question  of  organization  is,  "  who 
bring  full  credentials  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  Letters 
Missive?"  This  determined,  the  choice  of  moderator,^  of  scribe  — 
and  sometimes  of  assistant  scribe  —  is  next  in  order.  Then  prayer ; 
then  a  call  for  the  business  in  due  form. 

(6.)    Scope  of  business.     Every  Council  is  necessarily  limited  to 

and  such  other  incidental  matters  as  may  inseparably  belong  to  these  main  difficulties 
between  us.     Wishing  you  grace,  mercy,  and  peace,  Sfc,  ^c,  Sfc.  Signatures,  Sfc. 

The  following  would  be  a  correct  form  for  the  calling  of  an  Ex-parte  Council,  by  an  individual 
[or  individuals,]  feeling  himself  agrieved  by  Church  action  for  which  he  can  obtain  no  re- 
dress, viz :  — 


To  the  Congregational  Church  in . 

Dear  Brethren : 

The  undersigned,  feeling  himself  [themselves]  aggrieved  and  injured  by  recent  ac- 
tion of  the  Congregational  Church  in and  having  in  a  legal,  usual,  and  proper 

manner,  earnestly  requested  it  to  unite  with  him  [them']  in  bringing  the  matter  before  a 
Mutual  Council,  and  been  —  as  it  seems  to  him  [the7n]  —  unreasonably  refused ;  de- 
sire[s]  to  avail  himself  [themselves]  of  the  privilege  offered  by  Congregational  usage  to 
Church  members  thus  oppressed,  by  laying  his  [their]  grievances  before  an  Ex-parte 
Council,  in  manner  and  form,  as  follows: —  [Here  insert  the  grievances  desired  to  be 
laid  before  the  Council.] 

In  view  of  these  facts,  the  undersigned  beg[s]  to  request  of  your  sense  of  right,  and 
your  Christian  sympathy  and  friendship,  your  participation,  by  Pastor  and  Delegate, 
in  such  an  Ex-parte  Council,  called  to  meet  at ,  on ,  at ,  o'clock,  in  the . 

Faithfully,  your  Brother  [brethren]  in  the  Lord, 

[Signature.] 

(Date,  %c.) 

The  Churches  invited  to  sit  in  Council  are  the  follovoing — [name  all.] 

A  form  for  calling  an  Ex-parte  Council  with  regard  to  the  dismission  of  a  minister  who  will 
not  unite  with  his  Church  to  call  a  mutual  one,  may  be  found  on  page  201. 

1  In  Eastern  Massachusetts,  the  Council  is  usually  called  to  order  by  one  of  its  oldest  clerical 
members,  who  reads  the  Letter  Missive  and  "  takes  the  liberty  "  to  nominate  a  moderator.  In 
Western  Massachusetts  it  is  more  usual  —  if  we  are.  rightly  informed  —  to  choose  the  moderator 
by  ballot.    This,  we  submit,  is  always  the  better  way. 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  217 

action  upon  the  subjects  directly  stated  in  the  Letter  Missive  calling 
it  together.  It  has  no  right  to  go  one  step  in  any  direction  beyond 
that  letter,  because  the  party  calling  it  has  expressly  asked  its  advice 
upon  those  points  and  none  other,  and  because  the  churches  have 
sent  its  members  expressly  to  consult  and  advise  with  reference  to 
those  points  and  none  other ;  and  therefore  it  has  been  organized  and 
has  existence  as  a  Council,  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  and  advising 
upon  those  points  and  none  other.^ 

(7.)  Method  of  business.  As  there  is  no  code  special  for  Coun- 
cils, they  fall  under  the  ordinary  rules  governing  deliberative  bodies. 
In  examining  witnesses  they  should  ordinarily  receive  only  such  as 
would  be  received  in  a  court  of  justice ;  as  the  courts  may  review 
their  action.  If  one  rule  more  than  another  commends  itself  to  such 
bodies,  it  is  that  of  the  most  absolute  and  scrupulous  Christian  im- 
partiality. This,  with  Christian  common  sense,  will  carry  any  Coun- 
cil safely  through  the  most  trying  experience. 

(8.)  Result.  In  coming  to  a  result  it  is  usual,  after  the  testimony 
is  all  in,  and  those  who  called  the  Council  have  said  all  that  they 
wish  to  say  in  elucidation  of  the  matters  at  issue,  for  the  Council  to 
vote  to  "  be  by  themselves."  Privacy  thus  being  secured  for  their 
deliberations,  it  is  usual  for  the  Moderator  to  request  the  Scribe  to 
call  the  roll  of  the  Council,  giving  each  Pastor  and  delegate  an  oppor- 
tunity to  express,  as  briefly  and  clearly  as  possible,  the  opinion  which 
he  has  formed,  and  the  advice  which  he  thinks  ought  to  be  given  to 
the  parties  in  interest.  When  all  have  spoken,  and  thus  the  general 
drift  of  the  sentiment  of  the  Council  has  become  clear,  it  is  usual 
for  a  Committee  of  three  —  where  there  are  decidedly  two  opposing 
opinions  in  the  Council,  this  Committee  may  wisely  include  one  rep- 
resentative of  each  of  these  opinions,  and  one  occupying  middle 
ground  —  to  be  appointed  to  draw  up  a  form  of  result  which  shall 
embody  the  judgment  of  the  Council  upon  the  subjects  before  them. 
That  report  when  made,  is  freely  discussed  and  amended  until  it  is 

1  "For  example  :  a  Council  is  called  for  organizing  a  new  Church,  for  the  alleged  reasons 
that  great  want  of  harmony  exists  in  another  in  the  same  town  ;  it  is  then  perfectly  competent 
for  the  Council  to  inquire  as  to  the  existence  of  the  alleged  dissensions,  and  whether  they  are 
such  as  to  furnish  good  reasons  for  advising  a  new  organization,  and  whether  they  are  irre- 
movable ;  but  they  have  no  right  to  proceed  to  an  investigation  into  the  merits  or  demerits  of 
the  dissensions.  —  because  the  parties  are  not  before  them,  and  if  they  were,  the  case  is  not." 
—  Rev.  A.  H.  Quint.     "  Authority  of  Councils.^^    Cong.  Quar.,  vol,  IL  p.  59. 


218  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

brought  into  such  a  shape  that  it  will  secure  the  unanimous  assent 
of  the  body,  or  that  of  its  large  majority,  when  it  is  formally  adopted, 
authenticated  by  the  signature  of  the  Moderator  and  Scribe,  and  com- 
municated to  the  parties. 

The  vote  is  usually  taken  by  calling  the  roll  of  members,  and  deter- 
mined by  their  majority.  There  would,  however,  be  obvious  advan- 
tages in  a  return  to  the  method  formerly  practised,  of  a  vote  by 
churches ;  each  Church  giving  one  vote.  In  that  case  any  inequal- 
ity of  attendance  would  be  adjusted ;  sometimes  to  the  great  gain  of 
the  moral  force  of  the  result. 

In  form,  such  a  "  Result "  should  first  contain  a  correct  list  of  the 
churches  represented,  and  of  the  Pastors  and  delegates  comprising 
the  Council ;  second,  a  condensed  journal  of  its  sittings  and  proce- 
dure ;  and  third,  the  document  containing  the  conclusion  to  which  it 
comes.^ 

(9.)  The  Force  of  the  Result  of  a  Council.  As  all  true  Congrega- 
tional Councils  are  called  to  give  advice,  and  for  this  only,  it  neces- 
sarily follows  that  it  is  advice,  purely,  which  they  give.^    Those  who 

1  The  following  may  suggest  all  that  is  needful  as  to  the  exact  phraseology  of  such  a 
«  Result." 

Pursuant  to  Letters  Missive  from  the  Congregational  Church  in ,  [or,  name 

the  exact  source  of  the  letters]  an  Ecclesiastical  Council  convened  at ,  on , 

for  the  purpose  of  [state  the  object  as  given  in  the  Letters  Missive.}  The  Council 
was  composed  of  representatives  of  the  churches  as  follows:  — 

From  the  Congregational  Church  in ,  Rev. ,  Pastor. 

Bro. ,  Delegate. 

[and  so  arranging  the  churches  either  in  alphabetical  order,  or  by  their  seniority  of 
formation.] 

It  was  organized  by  the  choice  of  Rev. ,  Moderator;  Rev. Scribe, 

[and  Rev. ,  Assistant  Scribe.]     After  Prayer  by  the  Moderator,  the  parties 

calling  the  Council  proceeded  to  lay  before  it  the  matters  upon  which  its  advice  was 

desired. 

[here  insert  briefly  the  journal  of  proceedings,  sessions,  adjournments,  etc.,  —  shorn  of 

all  trivial  matters  —  until  the  result  is  reached.  ] 

After  the  most  patient,  thorough,  and  prayerful  examination  which  they  have  been 

able  to  give  the  matter  submitted  to  them  for  action,  the  Council  came  [unanimously] 

to  the  following  Result. 

[here  give,  in  full,  the  document  finally  agreed  upon  as  embodying  the  advice  of 

Council.] 

Signed,  (1.)  Moderator.  (2.)  Scribe. 

(Date.) 

2  See  this  more  at  large,  pp.  64-5.  See  also,  pp.  200-4.  See  also,  S.  Mather's  Apology,  p. 
118  ;  I.  Mather's  Disquisition,  p.  28  ;  John  Norton's  Responsio,  pp.  112-119  ;  Pres.  Stiles'  Con- 
vention  Sermon,  p.  46.  See  also  one  true  statement  in  the  famous  Dedham  "  Statement." 
(1819),  Tiz:  '•  the  power  of  Councils  is  merely  advisory  ;  nor  can  they  volunteer  that  service 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM    WOUKS.  219 

have  called  a  Council  are  morally  bound  to  accept,  and  act  upon,  its 
advice,  in  good  faith,  if  it  commend  itself  to  their  conscience  as  the 
will  of  God  concerning  them.  The  presumption  must  always  be  that 
the  result  of  every  fairly  constituted  and  properly  managed  Council 
is  binding  upon  the  parties  caliing  it,  unless  they  can  show  good 
cause,  in  conscience,  for  neglecting  it. 

But  there  is,  purely  speaking,  no  authority  in  the  result  of  any 
Council.-^ 

By  the  decisions  of  the  Massachusetts  courts,  the  result  of  a  Coun- 
cil in  its  legal  aspects,  may  be  stated  in  these  four  particulars.^ 

1.  Such  a  result  is  of  no  force  until  accepted  by  the  parties.^ 

2.  If  accepted  by  one  party  and  not  accepted  by  the  other,  it  will 


They  cannot  come  till  they  are  asked,  nor  extend  their  inquiries  beyond  the  point  submitted  ; 
and  then  their  decision  may  be  regarded  or  not,  as  shall  seem  best  to  the  party  asking."  p.  55. 
See  also  some  very  pungent  reasoning  on  this  subject  (pp.  31-39),  in  "  a  Neighbor's  "  Second 
Treatise  on  Church  Government,  called  out  by  the  Boiton  case,  (1773),  with  this  pertinent 
statement,  (p.  39).  "it  is  the  churches'  prerogative  to  judge,  and  Council's  main  province  to 
reflect  light  in  order  that  churches  may  judge  uprightly.''''  See  also  the  admirable  reasoning  of 
Gov.  Thomas  Fiteh,  in  his  Explanation  of  Hay-Brook  Platform,  (published  anonymously  in 
1765),  passim,  and  specially  this  passage,  (p.  24),  "  if  we  conceive  of  Councils  as  having  juris- 
diction [properly  so  termed],  and  consequently  a  judicial  authority  in  any  case,  endless  dis- 
putes will  arise,  nor  will  it  be  possible  to  reconcile  Our  Ecclesiastical  Constitution  with  itsell :  . 
such  a  power  in  Councils  is  quite  inconsistent  with  the  rights  and  duties  of  particular  churches, 
clearly  and  expressly  asserted  and  maintained  by  these  churches,  &c.  But  if  we  view  Councils 
as  helps,  counsellors,  advisers,  &c.,  affording  light,  assistance,  &c.  for  the  conviction,  peace, 
and  edification  of  the  churches,  and  the  like,  our  constitution  will  appear  in  a  good  light,  con- 
sistent with  itself,  and  agreeable  both  to  the  principles  and  genius  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ." 

1  Sometimes  all  parties  calling  a  Council  enter,  before  its  session,  into  an  agreement  to  abide 
by  its  Result,  whatever  it  may  be  —  thus  making  it  strictly  a  Board  of  Referees,  rather  than  a 
Council.  [See  Bliss's  Rehoboth,  p.  209,  and  the  Manchester  (Mass.)  Council,  Dec.  1857.]  In 
that  case  there  will,  necessarily,  in  virtue  of  the  previous  agreement,  be  a  binding  force  in  the 
Result,  and  the  courts  will  enforce  it,  in  all  pecuniary  details  [see  Stearns  v.  Bedford] ;  but^as 
a  Reference  and  not  as  a  Council.  Nor  is  it  clear  that  such  agreement  beforehand  is  any  sug- 
gestion of  real  Congregationalism.  [Cong.  Quarterly,  Jan.  1860,  p.  63.]  On  this  point,  see  New 
Ungland^s  Lamentations,  by  Rev.  John  White,  of  Gloucester,  who  says  [p.  165,  Wise's  Quar- 
rel, etc.]  ''  Some  Councils  have  perswaded  the  Church  and  aggrieved  to  promise  to  acquiesce  in 
the  determination  of  the  Council  before  they  heard  the  case,  by  which  their  consciences  have 
been  ensnared,  and  the  Council  turned  into  a  solemn  arbitration.  This,  therefore,  is  matter  of 
just  lamentation.^^ 

John  Norton,  in  his  Responsio  [the  first  Latin  work  ever  written  in  this  country  ;  as  his 
Orthodox  Evangelist  was  the  first  treatise  of  .systematic  Divinity  ever  compo.sed  here],  takes 
strong  ground  as  to  the  duty  of  a  Church  to  accept  the  advice  of  Council,  yet  even  he  presup, 
poses  the  danger  of  error  in  such  a  result,  and  its  consequent  invalidity.  His  reasoning  is 
Ingenious  :  "  Errorem  Synodi  et  Ecclesiarum  non  esse  fundamentalem.  quia  turn  cesserant  Ec- 
clesicB  esse  Ecclesi(B,  et,  consecjuenter,  Synodus  non  esset  legitima.''^   p.  112. 

2  See  Congregational  Quarterly,  vol.  ii.  pp.  60-64. 

^  "  Theresultof  a  Council,  of  its  own  intrinsic  validity, is  never  obligatory  upon  the  parties." 
Stearns  v.  Bedford,  21  Pick.  114. 


220  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

justify  the  party  adopting  it,  in  acts  done  in  consequence,  but  will  not 
bind  the  party  rejecting  it.^ 

3.  Such  a  result  is  conclusive  as  to  facts  —  adjudged  to  be  facts 
by  the  Council.^ 

4.  The  court  may,  however,  revise  (all  but  the  facts)  the  modus 
operandi ;  to  assure  itself  that  all  processes  have  been  fair  and 
regular.^ 

So  that  the  legal  aspect  of  the  result  of  a  Council  is,  in  short,  this : 
—  if  "a  Council  has  been  properly  called,  if  the  subject-matter  is 
such  as  should  come  before  a  Council,  if  its  members  are  impartial,  if 
its  investigations  are  fair,  if  its  decision  is  clear,  —  then  its  result, 
while  it  must  be  adopted  before  it  is  of  any  authority,  will  justify 
either  party  conforming  thereto."  * 

(10.)  Dissolution.  When  a  Council  has  concluded  its  preliminary 
sessions,  and  reached  its  Result,  its  function  is  at  an  end,  and  the 
proper  vote  to  be  passed,  is  that  "  it  be  dissolved."  It  has  no  longer 
any  legal  existence,  and  can  never  be  recalled.^  It  has  no  right  to 
adjourn  for  a  definite  period,  o\  "  subject  to  the  call  of  the  modera- 
tor ; "  in  the  view  of  waiting  to  see  whether  the  parties  it  has  ad- 
vised will  follow  its  advice  ;  and  with  the  intention  of  another  session, 
and  another  judgment,  if  they  do  not  follow  it.  It  was  not  invited 
to  oversee  the  execution  of  its  advice,  but  merely  to  give  it,  and 
when  once  given,  it  is  an  impertinence  for  it  to  assume  to  become  a 
tribunal  for  its  enforcement.  Such  an  attempt  to  assume  authority 
over  the  churches  is  a  Presbyterian  heresy,  which  Congregationalists 
should  be  vigilant  to  eschew.^ 


1  See  page  202,  with  the  legal  references  there  given.  See,  also,  Avery  v.  Tyringham, 
3  Mass.  160. 

2  Stearns  v.  Bedford,  and  Burr  v.  Sandwich. 

3  "  The  court  always  look  behind  the  adjudication,  and  before  the  result  can  be  received  as 
evidence,  or  allowed  to  have  any  validity,  they  will  examine  the  proceedings,  to  ascertain 
whether  there  was  a  suitable  case  for  the  convocation  of  an  Ecclesiastical  Council ;  whether  the 
members  were  properly  selected  ;  whether  they  proceeded  impartially  in  their  investigations  ; 
whether  their  adjudication  was  so  formally  made  that  it  might  be  seen  that  they  acted  with 
due  regard  to  the  rights  of  the  parties,  and  that  they  founded  their  decision  upon  grounds 
which  will  sustain  it."    Thompson  v.  Rehoboth,  7  Pickering. 

*  Congregational  Quarterly,  vol.  ii.  p.  G2. 

6  See  this  point  argued  in  the  Result  of  the  famous  Reading  Council,  June  15,  1847,  p.  14. 

6  In  Felt's  Annals  of  Salem,  vol.  ii.  pp.  593-9,  is  an  account  of  an  attempt  by  a  "grand 
Council,"  (A.  D.  1734-45),  to  excommunicate  Rev.  Mr.  Fiske  and  his  Church  :  the  Council  as- 
sembling and  reassembling,  and  appealing  to  the  churches  of  the  Commonwealth  to  sustain 
them.    Mr.  Cummings  says,  (Diet.  p.  74,)  "Mr.  Fiske,  the  minister,  and  a  majority  of  his 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  221 

In  very  rare  instances,  we  are  aware,  circumstances  may  arise 
which  may  make  it  desirable  for  the  same  churches  to  be  again  con- 
vened in  Council  upon  the  same  subject.  But  this  can  only  be  done 
by  a  new  Letter  Missive,^  and  a  course  of  procedure,  in  all  respects, 
de  novo? 

Section  7.     Consociation. 
A  Consociation  —  in  the  sense  in   which  the  word  is  now  com- 

Church,  did  not  approve  of  this  '  third  way  of  communion,'  disregarded  the  sentence,  and  out- 
lived the  storm."  The  pamphlets  published  on  this  controversy,  fill  a  volume,  and  may  be 
consulted  in  the  Salem  Athena>um. 

1  "Councils  expire  when  they  have  given  the  advice  for  which  they  were  called."— Cum- 
ming's  Cong.  Diet.,  p.  128.  ♦ 

"  To  reassemble,  therefore,  by  their  own  authority,  and  without  the  originating  power  of  a 
new  Letter  Missive,  and  to  prosecute  inquiries  anew  in  relation  to  the  Church  and  people,  or  to 
do  any  thing  else  as  a  Council,  would  be  considered  at  variance  with  Congregational  princi- 
ples."—Upham.    Ratio  Disciplitue,  p.  188. 

See  the  Reading  case  (1847),  for  illustration  of  the  bad  policy  of  the  reassembling  of  a  Coun- 
cil, where  [Protest,  p.  75,  Appendix  to  Result],  it  is  said  of  such  a  reassembling  [April  7,  1847, 
of  a  Council  which  met  March  4,  1846],  "  we  deem  it  an  entire  perversion  of  Congregational 
principles  for  a  Council  to  retain  a  permanent  authority  to  inspect  the  conduct  of  any  Church, 
or  any  member  of  a  Church." 

2  Some  of  the  most  important  published  results  of  Councils  of  recent  days,  are  that  at  Salem, 
Mass.,  1849,  (Howard  Street  Church),  in  which,  and  in  the  Review  of  it  [attributed  to  Rev.  S. 
M.  Worcester,  D.  D.]  is  thoroughly  discussed  the  question  whether  a  Congregational  Church 
oan  disband  itself  by  the  force  of  majority  vote  ;  that  at  Reading,  Mass.,  (South  Church),  1847, 
above  referred  to,  in  which  the  claim  of  a  Pastor  to  negative  Church  acts  is  discussed ;  those  at 
the  same  place  in  1832  and  1834,  in  which  opinion  is  given  on  the  question  of  making  Infant 
Baptism  imperative  upon  Congregational  Church  members ;  that  at  Danvers,  Mass.,  1852, 
where  the  "  three  month's  notice  "  plan  is  referred  to  ;  that  at  New  York  (Church  of  the  Puri- 
tans), 1859,  where  arbitrary  and  summary  exclusion  from  the  Church  is  advised  to  be  null. 

For  good  examples  of  the  Councils  that  were  held  in  the  days  of  the  Unitarian  apostacy  — 
and  exhibiting  the  trickiness  and  dishonesty  sometimes  practised  by  the  opposers  of  the  Trinity, 
see  the  Fitchburg,  Mass.  case  (1801),  [Life  of  Dr.  S.  Worcester,  vol.  i.  pp  263-356] ;  the  Dorch- 
ester case  (1811-12),  [reviewed  in  the  Panoplist,  1814,  pp.  256-307] ;  the  Princeton  case  (1817), 
[reviewed  in  the  Panoplist,  1817,  pp.  264-273] ;  the  Sandwich  case  (1817),  [result  published  in 
the  Panoplist,  1817,  pp.  274-279]  ;  the  Dedham  case  (1818),  [reviewed  by  Judge  Stebbins,  in  the 
Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims,  1829,  pp.  329-331]  ;  the  Groton  case  (1826),  [reviewed  in  the  Spirit  of  the 
Pilgrims,  1829,  pp.  370-403]  ;  and  the  Cambridge  case  (1827-29),  [reviewed  in  the  Spirit  of  the 
Pilgrims,  1829,  pp.  559-571]. 

For  fine  specimens  of  the  older  method  of  Councils  in  New  England  called  to  advise  in  refer- 
ence to  matters  of  doctrine  in  the  alleged  heresy  of  ministers,  see  Report  of  a  Conference  held 
at  Westford,  [Mass.],  Dec.  4,  1781,  in  Congregational  Quarterbj,  1861,  pp.  268-278,  and  Result  of 
a  Council  of  Churches  at  Grafton,  Mass.,  Oct.  2, 1744,  in  the  collections  of  the  Congregational 
Library  Association.  It  is  noticeable  in  these  old  results,  that  the  names  of  the  Pastors  and  Del- 
egates are  not  given  (with  the  exception  of  the  Moderator,  and  Scribe) ;  the  stress  then  being 
laid  upon  the  assumed  presence  of  the  churches,  and  not  on  the  personal  dignity,  or  sagacity, 
of  the  individuals  composing  the  Council. 

In  the  rich  collections  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  and  of  the  Salem  Athenseum, 
may  be  found  many  curious  documents  illustrating  the  ancient  ways  in  these  particulars. 


222  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

monly  used* — is  a  Standing  Council,^  which  some  Congrega- 
tional churches,  and  especially  those  of  Connecticut,  have  sub- 
stituted for  the  common  Method  of  Councils.^     Strictly  it  is,  with  * 

1  Our  fathers  talked  about  the  "  Consociation  of  Churches,"  when  they  only  meant  by  it  their 
ftlloioship.  Peter  Thacher  and  John  Webb,  in  their  "  Brief  Declaration,''''  [Boston,  1720],  say, 
(p.  6),  "  as  to  the  Consociation  of  Churches^  we  find  our  Synods  speaking  very  honorably  of  it, 
and  with  great  Light  and  Force  urging  the  strict  Union  and  holy  Communion  of  all  particular 
Churches  one  with  another,  in  all  the  proper  acts  of  that  communion  ;  such  as  Mutual  Direc- 
tion, Prayer,  Admonition,  &c."  They  then  go  on  (pp.  7,  8)  to  show  that  this  involves  no  con- 
trol over  the  churches,  but  simply  good  fellowship  between  them. 

2  "  The  Consociation  is  a  Standing  Council,  both  judicial  and  advisory,  competent  to  ordain, 
dismiss,  and  discipline  Pastors  ;  to  unite,  organize,  and  discipline  churches  ;  to  revise  the  deci- 
sions of  the  constituent  Churches,  and  to  consult  their  general  welfare."  Rule  IV.  of  Litchfield 
North  Consociation,  Conn.  Historical  Sketch,  p.  32. 

8  It  is  usual  to  claim  Hooker  as  the  originator  of  this  plan  of  judicature.  Dr.  Hawes  says, 
[Contributions  to  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Connecticut,  p.  87],  "he  was  the  father  of  the 
system  of  Consociation.  It  was  a  favorite  and  oft  repeated  remark  of  his  — 'we  must  have 
the  Consociation  of  the  Churches,  or  we  are  ruined.'  "  But  Hooker  appears  to  have  used  the 
term  in  its  ancient  and  loose,  rather  than  its  modern  and  tephnical  sense,  as  he  repeatedly 
repudiates  the  idea  of  any  control  over  the  churches  from  without.  lie  says,  [Survey, 
Part  iv.  p.  19],  "  the  truth  is,  a  particular  Congregation  is  the  highest  tribunal,  unto 
which  the  grieved  party  may  appeal.  ...  If  difficulties  arise  in  the  proceeding,  the  council  of 
other  churches  should  be  sought  to  clear  the  truth  ;  but  the  power  of  censure  rests  still  in  the 
Congregation,  where  Christ  placed  it^  Again  he  says,  [p.  51],  "if  Synods  and  such  meetings 
be  attended  only  in  way  of  consultation,  as  having  no  other  power,  nor  meeting  for  any  other 
end ;  then,  as  they  are  lawful,  so  the  root  of  them  lies  in  a  common  principle,  &c." 

About  1656-1662,  a  movement  was  made  in  both  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  toward  Conso- 
ciation. (See  Trumbull's  Connecticut,  yo\.  i.  ch.  xiii. ;  New  Haven  Colonial  Records,  vol.  ii.  pp 
196-7,  and  Records  of  Massachusetts  Colony,  vol.  iv.  part  2,  pp.  38,  60, 62.]  The  Connecticut  Synod 
failed  of  a  majority  for  the  plan,  John  Davenport  vigorously  opposing  it  there,  and  afterward  in 
Boston.  The  Boston  Synod  recommended  it ;  first  ameliorating  it  of  juridical  power.  But  the 
matter  then  died  away  for  the  time  in  both  Colctoies.  About  the  beginning  of  the  18th  Century 
[see  Pres.  Stiles'  Convention  Sermon,  pp.  68,  69 ;  Trumbull,  vol.  i  pp.  478-488  ,  Wise's  Quarrel, 
passim ;  Cotton  Mather's  Ratio,  pp.  182-184,  and  Magnalia,  5th  Book  ,  Congregational  Quar- 
terly, vol.  i.  p.  49],  under  the  leadership  of  Pierpont  in  Connecticyt,  and  of  Cotton  Mather  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, the  effort  was  renewed.  The  Say  brook  Synod  adopted  their  famous  "  Platform  " 
(1708) ;  and  the  "  Boston  Association  "  (1705)  proposed  a  system  of  Consociation.  Butler's  His- 
tory of  Groton,  Mass.  [p.  169],  contains  the  record  of  a  proposition  to  the  Church  in  Groton 
to  unite  in  a  Consociation,  which  had  been  proposed  by  an  Association,  met  at  Marlborough, 
July  16,  1707  ;  which  proposition  was  adopted,  nem.  con.  by  the  Groton  Church,  July  21, 1707 
But  I  have  met  with  no  further  record  of  that  movement.  In  Massachusetts,  the  general  plan 
was  violently  assailed  by  John  Wise,  and  others,  and  found  little  favor.  There  are  frequent 
traces  of  an  impulse  in  this  direction,  however,  in  after  years  In  1732,  WWliam  Homes,  of 
Chilmark,  published  his  "  Proposals  of  some  things  to  be  done  in  our  administering  Ecclesias- 
tical Government,  whereby  it  may  more  effectually  reach  its  end  in  some  respects,"'  etc.,  in 
which  he  advocates  a  Consociation  under  the  name  of  an  Ecclesiastical  Council  or  Presbytery, 
(pp.  6-30).  His  Proposals  came  to  a  second  edition  some  fifty  j'ears  after,  [Newburyport,  1774, 
pp.  43],  but  never  came  to  any  thing  else.  The  Records  of  the  Mendon  Asscation  show  that 
a  proposition  was  entertained  and  digested  in  1756,  by  its  members,  for  a  Consociation  ;  and 
that  they  proposed  it  to  their  churches.  Mention  is  agvan.  made  of  the  subject  in  the  records 
of  1757,  but  then  it  drops  into  oblivion,  and  there  is  no  trace  of  any  movement  of  the  churches 
in  response.     [Hist.  Mendon  Association,  pp.  47-52.]    In  1774,  Dr.  Whitaker,  of  the  Taberna- 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  223 

those    who    accept    the    plan,    the    highest    Ecclesiastical   judica- 
ture.^ 

A  Consociation  is  usually  composed  of  the  Pastor  and  one  Messen- 
ger from  each  of  the  Congregational  churches  of  a  County,  or  of  half 


cle  Church  in  Salem,  "  confuted  "  John  Wise  (now  in  his  grave  forty-nine  years)  in  a  vigorous 
attempt  [J  confutation  of  two  Tracts,  entitled  ^A  Vindication  of  the  New  England  Churches,^ 
and  '  T/ie  Ckarches  Quarrel  Espoused,''  written  by  the  Rev.  John  Wise,  ^c.  Boston :  Isaiah 
Thomas.  1774.  pp.  98]  to  commend  Presbyterianism  to  Massachusetts  ;  but  the  pernicious 
old  Puritan  would  n't  stay  confuted,  and  the  churches  remained  obstinately  deaf  to  the  voice 
of  the  charmer.  In  1814,  the  plan  was  again  urged  in  the  General  Association  of  Massachu- 
setts, in  the  form  of  appointing  a  Committee  to  examine  an  "  Ancient  Document,"  found 
among  Cotton  Mather's  papers,  on  the  question  "  what  further  steps  are  to  be  taken,  that 
Councils  may  have  due  constitution  and  efiScacy."  The  Committee  (of  Drs.  Morse,  Austin, 
Woods,  Worcester,  and  Lyman,  and  Rev.  Messrs.  Hale  and  Cooley),  reported,  in  1815,  pro- 
posing the  establishment  of  Consociations.  The  matter  was  laid  over  to  the  next  session,  and 
then  resulted  in  a  vote  tha*;  they  '*  had  no  objection  to  "  the  organization  of  Consociations, 
wherever  ministers  and  churches  were  so  inclined.  But  so  decided  was  now  the  repugnance 
of  the  Massachusetts  churches  to  the  system,  that  even  this  qualified  endorsement  led  to  the 
withdrawal  of  several  of  the  District  Associations  from  the  State  Body,  and  the  whole  project 
was  again  abandoned.  [See  Panoplist,  1814,  pp.  320-8  ;  1815,  pp.  359-73 ;  and  1816,  p.  369.J  A 
committee,  consisting  of  Rev.  Drs.  Woods,  Humphrey,  Snell,  Shepard,  Cooley,  and  Storrs,  and 
Rev.  Parsons  Cooke,  was  appointed  at  a  public  meeting  in  Boston,  May  29,  1844,  to  "  take  into 
consideration  what  measures  are  necessary  for  the  reaffirmation  and  maintenance  of  the  princi- 
ples and  spirit  of  Congregationalism."  Their  report  was  made  in  1846,  "  to  the  Congregational 
Ministers  and  Churches  in  Massachusetts,"  Dr.  Clark  says  [Cong.  Churches  of  Mass.,  p.  283,] 
"  though  the  whole  subject  of  Church-Government  was  laid  open  by  the  committee,  their  lead- 
ing object  evidently  was  to  magnify  the  office-work  of  Councils,  and  to  strengthen  the  authority 
of  their  decisions."  This  new  attempt,  however,  fell  still-born  from  the  press  which  printed 
the  report,  and  now,  after  the  lapse  of  sixteen  years,  the  churches  hardly  remember  that  such 
a  movement  ever  took  place. 

In  Connecticut,  the  Saybrook  *'  Articles  "  —  which  were  practically  a  compromise  between 
the  Presbyterian  and  Congregational  interests  [Bacon's  Historical  Discourses,  p.  191],  and  are 
obviously  susceptible  of  a  strict  construction,  elevating  the  Consociation  into  a  virtual  Presby- 
tery ;  and  of  a  looser  construction,  making  it  merely  a  stated  Council  —  were,  gradually,  and 
with  some  jealousy,  adopted  by  the  churches  ;  the  New  Haven  Association  (where  Davenport's 
influence  was  still  felt),  refusing  to  accept  the  Platform,  till  they  had  put  upon  record  their 
understanding  of  it.  Among  the  majority  of  the  churches  of  the  State,  the  strict,  or  Presbyte- 
rian, construction  of  the  Articles  prevailed  for  many  years,  and  was  used  to  prevent  the  forma- 
tion of  "New  Light"  churches  in  the  days  of  Whitfield.  [Cont.  Eccl.  Hist.  Conn.,  p.  122.] 
After  the  first  half  century,  or  more,  the  Congregational  construction  of  its  articles  became 
more  general,  and  so  remains. 

1  "  When  any  case  is  orderly  brought  before  any  council  of  the  churches  [i.  e.,  any  Conso- 
ciation], it  shall  there  be  heard  and  determined,  which  (unless  orderly  removed  from  thence), 
shall  be  a  final  issue  ;  and  all  parties  therein  concerned  shall  sit  down  and  be  determined  there- 
by." —Art.  v.,  Saybrook  Platform.     Trumbull,  vol.  i.  p.  484. 

"The  churches  of  Connecticut  have  adopted  the  Consociating  principle,  as  best  supported 
by  God's  word,  and  established  the  Consociation,  as  the  highest  Ecclesiastical  judicatvjre.''^  — 
John  Elliott's  Sermon  at  Guilford,  1817.  p.  7. 

"  Y«  pastors  met  in  our  Consociation  have  power,  with  y«  consent  of  y"  Messengers  of  our 
Churches  chotsen,  and  attending,  authoritatively ,  juridically  and  decisively  to  determine  Eccles- 
iastical affairs,  ^c."  — Art.  II.,  Old  Consociation  of  Fairfield  Co,  Conn.  Cont.  Eccl.  Hist. 
Conn.,  p.  356. 


224  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

a  County,  where  the  territory  is  too  large  for  convenience  in  one.  This 
body  meets  at  stated  periods.  Whenever  any  special  need  for  advice 
arises  in  one  of  the  Consociated  churches,  provision  is  also  made  for 
calling  it  together  —  though  not  always  the  whole  of  it  is  required  to 
be  assembled.^  The  advice  of  Consociation  is  strictly,  and  according 
to  the  Say-Brook  Platform,  and  the  ancient  understanding,  in  the 
nature  of  an  authoritative  adjudication,  and  must  be  followed,  on  pain 
of  being  "  reputed  guilty  of  scandalous  contempt,  and  dealt  with  as 
the  rule  of  God's  word  in  such  case  doth  provide,  and  the  sentence 
of  non-communion  shall  be  declared  against  such  Pastor  and  Churqh. 
And  the  churches  are  to  approve  of  the  said  sentence,  by  withdraw- 
ing from  the  communion  of  the  Pastor,  and  Church,  which  so  refuseth 
to  be  healed."  2 

It  is  but  just  to  add  that  there  has  always  been  a  Low  Church  as 
well  as  a  High  Church  theory  of  this  system ;  ^  and  that  practically 
at  the  present  day,  Consociation  amounts,  in  many  places,  to  nothing 
more  than  a  Council  of  the  neighboring  churches. 

The  churches  of  Connecticut^  appear  to  be  strongly  attached  to 
this  way  of  Chm'ch  fellowship;  but  although  advocated  by  many 
eminent  men,^  it  is  difficult  to  see  that  it  offers,  or  secures,^  any  ad- 


1  See  Cont.  Eccl.  Hist.  Conn.,  p.  333. 

2  Say-Brook  Platform,  Art.  IV.     Trumbull,  i.  p.  484. 

8  See  Trumbull,  i.  p.  487.  See  also  Bacon's  Historical  Discourse,  (pp.  41-70.  Cont.  Eccl. 
Hist.  Conn.)  See  also  Gov.  Fitch's  clear,  candid,  and  forcible  Explanation  of  Say-Brook  Plat- 
form, [pp.  39,  small  4to.,  Hartford,  1765],  passim,. 

4  Cont.  Ecd.  Hist.  Conn.,  pp.  70,  87,  126,  127,  305,  317,  333,  419,  444. 

6  See  Dr.  D wight.  Sermon  clxii.  Dr.  Woods  also  favored  this  plan.  He  said,  "  the  best 
way,  I  think,  would  be  for  the  ministers  in  their  District  Associations  to  form  small  Consocia- 
tions ;  and,  once  formed,  their  benefits  would  be  so  obvious,  that  I  think  they  would  be  gener- 
ally and  gladly  adopted."  [MS.  Lectures.]  See  also  his  Works,  vol.  iii.  pp.  578-583.  There  is 
a  passage  worth  reading  in  this  connection,  in  Turell's  Life  of  Dr.  Coleman,  [Boston,  1748], 
pp.  98-108. 

6  The  Records  of  Consociationism  in  Connecticut  show  that  its  decisions  are  not  always  more 
just,  or  effectual,  than  those  of  Councils.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Robbins,  of  Branford,  was  excluded 
[1742]  from  the  New  Haven  Consociation,  and  deposed  —  for  preaching  to  a  Baptist  Church.  He 
quietly  went  on  with  his  work,  and  after  about  seven  years  was  invited  back  to  Consociation. 
[  Trumbull,  vol.  ii.  pp.  196-233] .  Dr.  Bacon  says  of  Consociation  —  "  that  it  had  any  efficacy  at 
all  in  preventing,  or  in  adjusting  those  local  controversies  which  are  inevitably  incident  to  the 
government  of  all  self-governed  churches,  does  not  appear  in  all  the  history  of  its  first  half- 
century."  [Cont.  Eccl.  Hist.  Conn.,  p.  38.]  He  says  indeed  [iij's/.  Discourses,  p.  192],  "for 
the  first  half-century,  or  more,  the  Saybrook  Platform  made  more  quarrels  than  it  healed.''''  In 
the  famous  "  Wallingford  case,"  Rev.  Mr.  Dana  was  settled  by  an  "  Old  Light"  Council  [1758], 
in  the  face  of  the  remonstrance  of  the  New  Haven  Consociation.  The  Consociation  convoked 
to  its  aid  that  of  Hartford  South,  and  casting  out  Mr.  Dana  and  his  Church,  recognized  a 
minority  opposed  to  him  as  "  the  Church."    That  minority,  after  keeping  up  worship  a  little 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  225 

vantage  sufficient  to  offset  the  Presbyterian  tendencies  which  inhere 
in  it.^  Nor  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  Congregational  churches,  in 
general,  prefer  a  method  more  purely  an  outgrowth  of  their  funda- 
mental principles.^ 

In  consociated  churches,  the  trial  and  deposition  of  ministers  is 
done  by  the  Consociation.^ 


Section  8.  Association. 
An  Association,  is  a  meeting  of  Pastors  in  the  aim  to  help  each 
other  in  their  common  work.  Such  meetings  have  existed  in  New 
England  since  a  very  early  date.^  The  Pastors  of  ten,  twenty,  or 
thirty  neighboring  churches  —  grouped,  and  limited,  by  considerations 
of  mutual  convenience  —  come  together  thus,  twice,  thrice,  or  four 
times  a  year,  and  spend  a  day,  or  more,  in  exercises  for  intellectual, 
spiritual,  and  professional  improvement.  As  a  matter  of  convenience, 
advantage  has  been  taken  of  these  regular  assemblages  of  the  Pas- 
tors, by  candidates  for  the  Pulpit,  to  present  themselves,  after  thorough 
training,  for  examination  for  a  certificate  of  approval  —  in  common 
parlance,  "  for  licensure."  ^ 

more  than  twenty  years,  "caved  in,"  and  went  back.     [Trumbull,  vol.  ii.  pp.  480-526.]     See 
Dr.  Bacon's  Norwich  Historical  Discourse,  pp.  51-56,  for  allusion  to  many  such  cases. 

Particularly  mournful  is  the  Rev.  Levi  Nelson's  recent  [1854]  exposition  of  "TAe  trials  of  a 
Church  and  Pastor  in  attempting  to  maintain  Gospel  Discipline  under  Consociational  interfer- 
ence,'''' in  Lisbon,  Conn.     [See  his  pamphlet,  pp.  50,  8vo.] 

1  The  one  good  thing  in  Mr.  Lesley's  "address  to  the  Sufifolk  North  Association,"  [Boston, 
1849,  pp.  130],  is  where  he  calls  Consociationism  the  "  vailed  Presbyterianism  of  the  New  Haven 
and  Hartford  Colony."  (p.  43.)  As  long  ago  as  1772,  John  Cotton,  of  Plymouth,  accused  the 
Rev.  Chandler  Robbins  of  attempting  to  bring  in  "  the  Connecticut  discipline  ;  "  adding,  in  a 
note,  "  Scarce  any  are  ignorant  that  the  discipline  in  Connecticut  verges  totvards  Presbyterian- 
ism.^^ See  his  General  Practice  of  the  Churches  of  New  England,  relating  to  Baptism,  vindi- 
cated.   [Boston.    E.  Russell.  12mo.  pp.  73.    p.  71.] 

2  "  A  Congregational  Church  holding  that  mode  of  Church  government,  cannot,  while  such, 
become  consociated." — Address  to  the  Rev.  Moses  C.  Welch.     [Windham.   1794.   p.  32.] 

"  Consociationism  leads  to  Presbyterianism ;  Presbyterianism  leads  to  Episcopacy  ;  Episco- 
pacy leads  to  Roman  Catholicism  ;  and  Roman  Catholicism  is  an  ultimate  fact." — Dr.  Em- 
mons.    Park''s  Memoir,  p.  163. 

3  See  page  206. 

4  President  Stiles  [  Convention  Sermon,  p.  68]  fixes  the  earliest  date,  in  his  knowledge,  of 
such  a  meeting,  in  New  England,  at  about  1670.  The  Library  of  the  Mass.  Historical  Society  con- 
tains the  MS.  record  of  "  Cambridge  Association,"  formed  at  the  house  of  Charles  Morton,  in 
Charlestown,  Mass.,  Oct.  13, 1690.  This  was  the  Association  which  Cotton  Mather  so  often  re- 
fers to  in  his  Magnalia,  and  this  MS.  contains  the  originals  of  most  of  the  votes  reported  by 
him. 

5  The  theory  of  New  England  Congregationalism  has  always  been  that  a  Church  of  Christ 
is  the  only  body  possessing  authority  to  empower  any  person  to  preach  the  Gospel.    But  as 

15 


226  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

In  some  of  the  States,  delegates  from  these  District  Bodies  meet 
once  a  year  to  constitute  a  General  Association  of  the  State ;  the 
printed  report  of  whose  annual  meeting  is  made  to  include  the  statis- 
tics of  the  Congregational  churches  in  that  Commonwealth.* 

While  these  Associations  are  very  helpful  to  Pastors,  and  through 

it  is  an  important  aid  to  the  churches  in  this  work  to  have  beforehand  the  carefully  lormed 
judgment  of  Pastors  in  reference  to  the  qualifications  of  candidates,  the  practice  has  grown  up 
of  having  all  candidates  present  themselves  to  some  ministerial  association  for  thorough  exami- 
nation as  to  their  fitness  —  in  learning  and  piety  —  to  preach  ;  and,  on  the  part  of  the  churches, 
of  entertaining  no  candidate  who  does  not  bring,  from  some  recognized  and  respectable  body  ol 
ministers,  a  certificate  of  their  approbation  as  a  fit  occupant  of  the  pulpit.  Such  a  certificate  is 
not  a  license  to  preach.  It  confers  no  power,  and  ought  not  to  be  so  named.  It  is  merely  a 
letter  of  commendation,  designed  favorably  to  introduce  its  holder  to  the  churches  Any  one 
of  them,  that  pleases  to  do  so,  on  the  strength  of  the  letter,  and  its  own  subsequent  investiga- 
tion, has  power  to  license  the  candidate,  by  making  him  its  Pastor ;  with  the  counsel  ot  others. 

David  Thurston  was  the  first  commended  by  the  Mendon  Association,  Nov  8,  1751  The  late 
Thomas  Gray.  D. D.,  of  Roxbury  [3J  Church]  was  the  first  "approbated ''  in  this  way.  b}'  the 
Boston  Association,  in  1792.  The  Mendon  Association,  now  in  its  second  century  has  always 
scrupulously  refused  to  use  the  term  "  license,*'  and  therein  deserves  the  commendation  of  all 
true  Congregationalists.   See  Centurial  Hat  ry  of  Mendon  Association.     [Boston,  1853  ]   p  75 

In  1651,  the  Church  in  Maiden  was  fined  £50,  by  the  Massachusetts  General  Court,  for  set- 
tling a  minister  without  previous  approbation;  and  in  1653,  the  Court  forbade  the  •new-' 
Church,  in  Boston,  to  settle  "Mr.  Powell,"  because  they  thought  him  too  unlearned,  and  or- 
dered that  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  preach  who  was  not  approved  by  "  the  elders  of  the 
four  next  churches,  or  the  County  Court ;  "  but  the  order  was  repealed  at  the  next  session,  on 
petition  from  members  of  the  Church  and  town  of  Woburn,  as  being  an  infringement  on  the 
liberties  of  the  churches.  [See  Records  Mass.  Colony,  vol.  iii.  pp.  237.  250,  293.  294.  317.  331. 
359 ;  and  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  3d  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  38-45,  where  the  petition  is  given  in  full,  with 
signatures.] 

1  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  and  Connecticut,  have  General  Associations  based  purely 
on  delegations  from  local  clerical  Associations.  Vermont,  New  York,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wis- 
consin, Iowa,  and  CaUfornia  have  substantially  such  bodies,  with  a  lay  element  superadded.  In 
Rhode  Island,  Indiana,  Minnesota,  Nebraska,  and  Oregon,  the  State  bodies  seem  to  be  made  up 
of  Pastors  and  delegates  coming  directly  from  the  churches,  without  delegation  from  any  inter- 
mediate body  whatever.  An  effort  was  made,  in  1818,  — under  the  pressure  of  the  Unitarian 
movement,  and  its  admonitions  to  the  friends  of  Orthodoxy  to  strengthen  themselves  in  every 
possible  manner — to  unite  all  the  General  Associations  of  New  England  into  one  Grand  Unity, 
by  means  of  a  sort  of  "  Committee  oi  Union."'  Naturally  enough,  this  plan  came  from  Conso- 
ciational  Connecticut.  The  General  Association  of  Massachusetts  appointed  Drs.  Worcester 
and  Hyde  and  Rev.  Thomas  Snell  to  meet  committees  of  conference  from  other  State  Bodies  in 
regard  to  it.  They  reported  (1819)  in  favor  of  the  plan,  and  advised  that  such  a  "  Committee 
of  Union  "  meet  annually  on  the  3d  Wednesday  of  October.  This  "  Committee  •'  met  accord- 
ingly in  Hartford,  in  the  October  following  —  Drs  Flint  of  Hartford,  and  Lyman  Beecher  (then 
of  Litchfield),  representing  Connecticut ;  Dr.  Hyde  and  Mr  Snell  representing  Massachusetts, 
and  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont  declining  to  go  into  the  arrangement.  Dr.  Hyde  was  chair- 
man and  Dr  Flint  scribe,  and  Dr.  Hyde  preached,  and  two  days  were  devoted  to  "  business  "  — 
such  as  it  was  ;  Dr.  Beecher  being  appointed  to  preach  next  year.  But.  in  1821,  this  *'  Com- 
mittee ''  had  good  sense  enough  to  see  that  they  were  ineffectually  endeavoring  to  attach  a  fifth 
—  superfluous  and  so  pernicious  —  wheel  to  the  denominational  coach,  and  they  accordingly 
recommended  their  own  dissolution.  The  recommendation  was  adopted,  and  the  scheme  was 
decently  and  speedily  buried  in  oblivion,  the  only  monumental  erection  to  keep  alive  its  mem- 
ory that  we  recall  in  print,  being  a  page  in  the  Cong    Quarterly,  for  Jan  1859,  (p  48). 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  227 

them  to  their  flocks,  it  is  a  fundamental  principle,  usually,  if  not  uni- 
versally, expressed  in  their  constitutions,  that  they  have  no  direct 
connection  with  the  churches,  and  no  claim  to  any  shadow  of  author- 
ity over  them. 

Section  9.     Conferences. 

A  Conference  is  an  assemblage  of  Pastors  and  delegates  of 
churches,  assembled,  not,  like  a  Council,  on  the  special  call  of  a  sister 
Church  for  some  isolated  service  toward  light  and  peace,  but  in  vir. 
tue  of  a  Constitution  providing  for  periodical  meetings,  for  mutual 
prayer,  communion,  advice,  and  helpfulness.^  As  in  the  case  of 
Pastoral  Associations,  the  size,  boundaries,  etc.,  of  these  Conferences  ^ 
are  dictated  by  convenience. 

As  with  Associations,  a  distinct  disavowal  of  all  ecclesiastical  con- 
trol, is  usually,  and  very  properly,  a  fundamental  article  of  their  con- 
federation. 

In  some  of  the  States,  delegations  from  these  local  conferences 
meet  annually,  in  a  General  Conference  representing  all  the  Con- 
gregational churches  in  the  State ;^  and  their  "minutes"  carry  the 
annual  statistics. 

Section  10.  Church  Extension. 
Where  population  is  steadily  increasing,  it  is  necessary  that  reli- 
gious privileges  should  perpetually  be  enlarged  by  the  establishment 
of  new  centres  of  hallowing  influence ;  that  the  Gospel  may  keep 
pace  with  the  need  for  it.  The  peculiar  fitness  of  Congregational- 
ism—  notwithstanding  its  lack  of  organization  outside  of  the  local 
Church  —  to  extend  itself,  will  be  more  particularly  discussed  here- 


1  The  New  England  Synod  of  1662,  seem  to  have  had  Church  Conferences  in  mind  in  some  of 
their  suggestions  [See  Mugnalia]  Book  v.,  vol  ii.,  pp.  300-301.]  Increase  Mather,  in  his  First 
Principles  of  New  England,  cites  a  plan  which  he  says  John  Cotton  drew  up  just  before  his 
death,  defining  and  recommending  this  practice  of  the  conference  of  churches.  Upham  [Ratio 
Disciplinee,  p  246,]  however  thinks  that  the  first  eflScient  measures  to  carry  out  this  plan,  took 
place  in  the  County  of  York,  Me.,  1822-3;  whence  the  system  spread  over  Maine,  and  thence 
largely  over  the  United  States. 

2  In  Maine  and  Ohio,  the  State  Body  is  thus  a  General  Conference,  made  up  of  delegates,  lay 
and  clerical,  from  local  conferences.  Massachusetts  has  recently  formed  such  a  Body,  in  addi- 
tion to  her  General  Association. 


228  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

after.^  It  is  enough  to  say  here,  that  it  is  —  and  from  the  beginning 
has  been 2 — eminently  missionary  in  its  spirit;  and  that — on  the 
common  sense  principle  that  "  when  there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way  " — 
it  has  never  found  any  difficulty  in  working  upon  the  destitute  and 
dying  world;  whether  in  near  localities,^  or  distant  states,^  or  na- 
tions.^ 

This  it  has  found  it  most  suitable  and  convenient  to  do  by  the 
means  of  Societies  for  City,  Home,  and  Foreign  Missions,  etc.,  into 
the  hands  of  whose  well-selected  officers,  and  to  the  care  of  whose 
wise  and  well-studied  agencies,  the  local  churches  commit  their  alms. 

Of  late  years  the  American  Congregational  Union  has  been  estab- 
lished,^ in  order  to  be  the  medium  of  conveying  aid  from  these  Con- 
gregational churches  who  have  some  strength  to  spare,  to  their  feebler 
brethren ;  and  has  accomplished  incalculable  good  in  the  way  of  help- 
ing young  churches  at  the  West  to  their  first  houses  of  worship  — 
without  which  they  can  accomplish  little ;  hardly  hope  even  to  keep 
themselves  alive. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  hoped  that  Congregationalists  everywhere  will 
increasingly  perceive,  and  use,  the  benefit  of  these  helps  toward  a  fit 
obedience  to  the  Saviour's  last  command. 

1  See  page  238. 

2  See  Acte  viii :  1, 14,  26  :  x :  19 ;  xi :  19-29 ;  xiii :  2,  3,  45-51 ;  xiv  :  21,  22,  etc. 

Very  touching  are  Gov.  Bradford's  words  in  regard  to  the  motives  of  the  Leyden  Pilgrims  in 
coming  hither  :  "  lastly,  (and  which  was  not  least,)  a  great  hope  &  inward  zeall  they  had  of 
laying  some  good  foundation,  or  at  least  to  make  some  way  thereunto,  for  ye  propagating  &  ad- 
vancing ye  gospell  of  ye  kingdom  of  Christ  in  those  remote  parts  of  ye  world  ;  yea,  though  they 
should  he  but  even  as  stepping-stones  unto  others  for  ye  performing  of  so  great  a  work."  — 
Plimouth  Plantation^  p.  24. 

3  Our  fathers  hegan  by  colonizing  new  churches  from  those  already  vigorous.  Three 
churches  (Duxbury,  Marshfield,  and  Eastham),  were  colonized  from  the  Mother  Church  at  Ply- 
mouth in  the  space  of  twenty-six  years.  Branch  churches  were  also  formed  in  destitute  local- 
ities, and  sustained  by  sap  from  the  trunk.  [See  Early  Methods  of  Church  Extension,  Cong. 
Quar.,  vol.  i.  pp.  53-59.]  See  also  Clark's  Congregational  Churches  in  Massachusetts  [pp.  95, 
96],  for  a  discussion  of  these  branch  churches.  [He  says  it  was  our  fathers'  "  mode  of  con- 
ducting domestic  missions,  and  may  be  regarded  as  the  first  form  which  this  enterprise  took  in 
New  England."  He  adds  that  "as  the  members  of  a  branch  were  still  enrolled  with  the 
Church  from  which  it  sprung,  till  a  fbrmal  separation  was  effected,  so  its  minister  was  in- 
cluded in  the  Eldership  of  the  other,  and  was  often  sent  with  the  Pastor  to  sit  in  Ecclesiastical 
councils. 

*  The  American  Home  Missionary  Society  was  Congregational  in  its  origin,  and  soon  will  be 
in  its  entire  quality.    [See  Puritans  and  Presbyterians,  Cong.  Quar.,  vol  iv.  pp.  38-57.] 

5  The  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  was  founded  by  the  Mass.  Gen- 
eral Association,  in  1819.     [See  Cong.  Quar.,  vol.  i.  pp.,  46-48.] 

6  The  Union  was  formed  at  New  York  City  in  May,  1853.  Its  receipts  reported  May,  1861, 
for  the  year  then  closed,  were  $14,048.80.  and  with  this  it  had  helped  —  in  the  twelve  months  — 
thirty-nine  feeble  Congregational  churches  to  enter  houses  of  worship  free  of  debt. 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  229 

Section  11.     Denominational  Relations. 

Congregationalists  have  some  peculiar  advantages  in  the  matter  of 
denominational  relations,  arising  from  the  simplicity,  breadth,  and 
catholicity  of  their  first  principles.  Believing  that  the  vitality  of  the 
Church  organism  does  not  reside  in  the  outward  form,  but  in  the 
inward  substance,  they  are  not  compelled  to  unchurch  any  body  of 
sincere  believers,  banded  under  whatsoever  form  differing  from  that 
which  is  usual  to  themselves.  While  they  have  their  own  decided 
preferences,  both  as  to  the  manner  of  all  church  work,  and  the  fash- 
ion of  all  public  worship,  they  are  not  compelled  by  fealty  to  their 
own  fundamentals,  proudly,  or  sadly,  to  cast  all  who  differ  from  them 
upon  the  "  uncovenanted  mercies  "  of  the  Lord.  They  rather  — 
while  they  seek  to  conserve  among  themselves  and  promote  among 
others  what  they  esteem  to  be  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints, 
—  trust  and  believe  that  "  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons :  but  in 
every  [denonii]nation,  he  that  feareth  Him,  and  worketh  righteous- 
ness, is  accepted  with  Him.  "  ^  They  therefore  hold  out  the  hand  of 
Christian  fellowship  — as  Paul  did  ^ — ^to  all  those  "  that  in  every  place 
call  upon  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  both  theirs  and  ours ;" 
and  delight  to  work  with  them  in  missions,  moral  reforms,  and  all 
practical  ways  of  cooperation. 

It  is  usual  for  Congregational  ministers  to  tender  the  exchange  of 
pulpit  services,  and  the  interchange  of  all  manner  of  Christian  cour- 
tesies, with  ministers  of  all  other  denominations ;  ^  except  those  from 
whom  they  are  necessarily  debarred  by  the  fact  of  their  "  not  holding 
the  Head,  from  which  all  the  body  by  joints  and  bands  having  nour- 
ishment ministered,  and  knit  together,  increaseth  with  the  incease  of 
God."  *  And  Congregational  Churches  endorse  and  enjoy  this  action 
of  their  Pastors ;  and  are  always  ready,  for  their  own  part,  to  prove 
their  fellowship  with  all  other  branches  of  the  invisible  Holy  Church 
imiversal,  by  dismissing  members  in  good  standing  to  them,  and  re- 

1  Actsx:  34,35. 

2  1  Cor.  i :  2. 

3  It  is  not  the  fault  of  Congregational  Pastors  that  their  kindly  fraternity  does  not  practically 
include  all  who  agree  with  them  in  doctrinal  essentials.  And  we  have  occasion  to  know  that 
some  Episcopalians  mourn  oyer  that  exclusiveness  in  their  system,  which  prevents  them  from 
meeting  our  courtesies  with  a  cordial  return. 

*  Coloss.  ii :  19. 


230  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

ceiving  such  members  from  them,  when  Providence  shapes  the  way 
of  duty  in  that  direction.^ 

Aside  from  this  informal  reciprocation  of  Christian  courtesies 
with  other  denominations  of  believers,  there  has  been  to  some  extent 
an  endeavor  to  further  a  more  formal  intercourse,  by  means  of  the 
interchange  of  delegated  attendance  upon  the  meetings  of  State  or 
National  associations.  Experience  has,  perhaps,  thrown  doubt  ^  upon 
the  question  whether  such  delegations  promise  enough  of  practical 
good  to  insure  the  perseverance  of  this  method  of  manifesting  Con- 
gregational good-will  to  "  them  that  have  obtained  like  precious  faith 
with  us  throuorh  the  righteousness  of  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,"  ^  but  who  do  not  "walk  according  to  this  rule."  ^ 

Section  12.     How  to  Dissolve  a  Church. 

In  the  Providence  of  God  it  may  sometimes  happen  that  —  by  the 
gradual  depopulation  of  the  locality  where  it  was  planted,  or  by  the 
emigration  of  its  members,  and  of  that  portion  of  the  population 
among  whom  it  can  hopefully  work,  or  for  other  reasons — the  extinc- 
tion of  a  given  local  Church  becomes  an  inevitable  necessity;  so  that 
the  question  arises  :  what  steps  are  orderly  for  its  dissolution  ? 

It  was  formed  by  the  covenant  of  its  members,  each  with  all  the 
others;  (usually)  in  connection  with  advice  from  other  churches, 
through  the  medium  of  a  Council.^  It  should  be  disbanded  by  a  pro- 
cess which,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  will  reverse  this.  It  is  well, 
(but  not  essential)  that  a  Council  be  called,  and  the  state  of  the  facts 
laid  before  it,  so  that  sister  Churches  may  have  full  and  seasonable 
cognizance  of  a  movement  of  so  much  consequence,  and  may  have 
the  opportunity  to  proffer  aid,  if  aid  may  wisely  be  tendered  to  avert 
the  catastrophe.     Such  a  Council  ^  having  advised  to  a  dissolution, 


1  See  pp.  161,  162,  (note)  for  some  practical  suggestions  in  regard  to  the  procedure  called  for 
where  embarrassment  arises  from  the  fact  that  some  denominations  to  which  we  give  our  mem- 
bers letters,  will  not  grant  their  members  letters  to  us,  in  reversed  circumstances. 

2  The  Massachusetts  General  Association  entered  into  correspondence  with  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  1811,  and  after  the  disruption  of  that  Assembly,  con- 
tinued the  correspondence  with  both  branches,  until  1856,  when,  both  parties  consenting,  that 
with  the  Old  School  section  was  dropped.  The  correspondence  with  the  New  School  Assembly 
Btill  has  a  name  to  live. 

3  2  Pet.  i :  1.  4  GaJ.  vi  :  16.  5  See  pp.  160-166. 

*  The  form  of  Letter  Missive  given  on  p.  200,  would  be  made  suitable  for  the  calling  of  such 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM    WORKS.  281 

the  question  would  then  come  before  the  Church :  ^  shall  we  follow 
this  advice,  and  shall  this  Church  organization  be  dissolved?  A 
unanimous  vote  in  the  affirmative  (which  should  include  the  grant  of 
authority  to  the  officers,  or  to  a  special  committee,  to  give  to  all  the 
members  letters  of  dismission  to  such  sister  Churches  as  they  may 
wish  to  join)  would  annul  the  covenant,  and  terminate  the  organiza- 
tion—  when  the  conditions  implied  in  the  vote  should  have  been  per- 
formed.^ So  far  as  we  know,  there  has  never  been  any  diffisrence  of 
judgment  as  to  the  conclusion  that  such  unanimous  consent  as  this, 
releases  every  member  from  his  covenant  obligation  to  that  particular 
organism,  and  releases  that  Church  from  its  converse  relation  to 
every  member,  and  so  allows  the  body  to  drop  quietly  into  non- 
existence, its  constituent  elements  rearranging  themselves  in  such  other 
combinations  as  the  general  good  may  dictate,  and  so  keeping  good 
their  covenant  with  God;  which  binds  them  irrevocably  to  some 
Church,  but  not,  necessarily,  to  that  Church.^ 

a  Council,  by  the  simple  substitution  of  the  clause,  "  that  the  Church  should  be  dissolved^''''  for 
"  that  the  relation  between  tht  Church  and  its  Pastor  should  be  dissolved.'^ 

1  Of  course,  it  would  be  before  the  Church,  and  the  Church  would  have  a  perfect  [abstract] 
right  to  discuss  and  decide  it,  if  no  Council  were  held ;  or  even  if  the  advice  of  the  Council 
should  be  against  disbandment. 

2  It  seems  to  us  that  there  has  been  a  little  hypercriticism  sometimes  applied  to  this  ques- 
tion. Thus,  in  the  Result  of  the  Howard  Street  Council,  at  Salem,  Dec.  4,  1849,  it  is  urged 
[p.  22]  that  the  vote  dissolved  the  Church  at  once,  and  before  any  letters  could  be  granted, 
so  that  there  was,  in  fact,  no  Howard  Street  Church,  from  which  the  members  could  go, 
when  they  had  their  letters,  and  were  ready  to  start.  But  such  a  vote  of  disbandment  must 
necessarily  reserve  its  force  until  its  conditions  have  been  complied  with  ;  and  therefore  there 
must  have  been  a  Howard  Street  Church,  at  all  events  —  if  every  member  had  taken  letters  — 
until  every  member  had  taken  and  used  them,  and  then  the  suspended  force  of  the  vote  would 
ultimate,  and  the  organism  cease. 

A  proper  form  of  letter  of  dismission  in  such  a  case,  might  be  the  following : 

To  the  Congregational  Church  in , 

Greeting : 

Whereas,  the  Providence  of  God  has  made  it  necessary  —  in  the  judgment  of  its 

members — for  the  Congregational  Church  in ,  to  cease  to  exist,  and  whereas  it 

has  unanimously  voted  that  its  existence,  as  a  separate  branch  of  Christ's  body,  shall 
cease,  whenever  its  members  shall  all  have  been  received  into  the  fellowship  of  those 
Churches  to  which  they  are  respectively  commended,  as  in  good  and  regular  standing : 

this  is  to  certify  you  that  the  bearer,  Brother  [or  Sister] is  thus  commended  to 

your  Christian  care  and  fellowship. 

(Signed.)  >^    Committee 

authorizfd  by 
the  Church 

to  issue 

{Date.)  )       Letters. 

We  suppose  that  the  great  majority  of  the  more  than  sixty  Congregational  churches  which 


232  CONGREGATIONALISM:. 

The  difficulty  which  has  not  infrequently  made  this  a  vexed  ques- 
tion, lies  in  another  (always  possible)  aspect  of  the  case  —  when 
there  is  not  entire  unanimity  in  the  movement,  and  the  dissolution  of 
the  Church  is  resisted  by  a  minority  of  its  members,  who  claim  that 
their  right  in  the  organism,  and  its  responsibility  in  covenant  to  them, 
are  such  as  cannot  be  vacated  by  the  mere  vote  of  a  majority. 

It  is  urged,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  very  nature  of  a  covenant 
implies  the  mutual  establishment  of  rights  which  cannot  be  resumed 
without  the  consent  of  all  parties  ;  that  as  every  Church  exists  by  the 
personal  covenant  of  each  with  each,  it  can  cease  to  exist  only  when 
each  releases  each  from  that  covenant ;  ^  and  that  the  right  to  the 
permanent  enjoyment  of  Church  privileges  in  that  particular  organi- 
zation being  the  consideration  on  which  the  covenant  was  made,  it 
is  unjust  and  oppressive  to  take  away  that  consideration  without  con- 
sent. On  the  other  hand,  it  is  urged  that,  as  a  Congregational 
Church  is  a  democracy,  the  common  law  of  the  power  of  the  major- 
ity ought  to  apply  to  it ;  that  every  member  comes  into  covenant 
with  it  on  that  express  imderstanding,  and  so  has  no  ground  of  com- 
plaint if  he  is  unchurched  by  it ;  ^  and  that  to  take  the  ground  that 
unanimous  assent  is  requisite  for  the  dissolution  of  a  Church,  is  to 
put  the  final  decision  always  into  the  hands  of  that  one  factious  and 
unreasonable  member,  who  contrives  to  slip  into  almost  every 
Church. 

We  suggest  that  the  true  ground  lies  between  these  two  extremes. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  common  rule  of  majority  action  is 
measurably  limited  by  the  covenant,  when  it  comes  to  touch  the  ftmda- 
mental  matter  of  the  very  existence  of  the  body.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  equally  clear  that  the  welfare  of  a  whole  Church  should  not  be 
left  where  it  can  hang  upon  the  unreasonable  and  contumacious  con- 
duct of  a  solitary  member.  We  hold,  then,  that  if  a  Church  ought 
to  be  dissolved,  it  should  be  done  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  all  its 
members,  who  are  in  good  and  regular  standing ;  and  only  for  rea- 
sons so  grave  and  clear  that  they  ought  to  carry  the  consent  of  every 
such  member.     And  if  a  majority  of  one,  or  more,  unreasonably  and 

have  become  extinct  in  Massacliusetts  —  nine  of  them  in  Boston  —  since  its  settlement ;  have 
gone  through  with  this  process  —  the  movement  not  taking  place  until,  by  unanimous  con- 
sent, it  was  the  only  wise  thing  to  be  done. 

1  See  Result  of  Howard  Street  Council  (Salem,  1850,  pp.  64),  p.  26. 

a  See  Review  of  that  Result  (Boston,  1860,  pp.  140),  p.  61. 


HOW    CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  233. 

contumaciously  refuses  consent ;  that  minority  becomes  guilty  of  an 
oflPense,  and  for  that  offense  (unrepented  of)  should  be  labored  with 
—  as  if  guilty  of  any  other — until  brought  to  a  better  mind,  or  cast 
out  from  membership,  when — in  either  event  —  the  way  is  opened 
for  the  regular  dissolution  of  the  body  by  unanimous  assent.^ 

1  For  various  considerations  affecting  this  general  subject,  see  the  Result  of  Council  before 
cited,  and  its  Review,  in  extenso ;  also  Clark's  Congregational  Churches  of  Massachusetts^ 
p.  281.  A  Council,  held  April  14,  1847,  called  to  dismiss  Rev.  Joel  Mann,  from  the  Howard 
Street  Church,  in  Salem,  advised  the  disbandment  of  the  Church,  as  well  as  his  dismission. 
May  4,  1847,  the  Church  voted,  17  to  10,  to  disband.  The  minority  resisted,  and  continue  as 
the  Church  to  this  day.  A  Council  convened  in  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  March  31,  1857,  advised 
the  disbandment  and  reorganization  of  that  Church,  expressly  to  drop  out  some  alien  elements. 
Dec.  15,  1857,  the  Church  voted,  16  to  7,  to  follow  the  advice  of  Council.  The  minority 
acquiesced,  and  the  Church  was  reorganized.  But  the  effect  of  the  procedure  was  not  con- 
sidered happy,  by  those  best  acquainted  with  the  facts. 

I  append  here  the  judgment  on  this  question  of  one  of  the  clearest  and  ablest  of  our  New 
England  thinkers,  recently  called  home  —  Rev.  Worthington  Smith,  D  D.,  late  President  of  the 
University  of  Vermont.    He  says : 

"  My  own  observation  has  convinced  me  that  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  terminate  a  Church 
corporation.  However  loosely  organized,  and,  I  might  almost  say,  however  corrupt,  it  has  a 
wonderful  tenacity  of  life.  It  ought  not  to  be  attempted  unless  we  are  quite  sure  of  success. 
Let  the  Church  edifice  be  disposed  of  and  vacated,  Church  furniture  sold,  and  the  avails  given 
to  the  poor,  and  letters  of  recommendation  voted,  before  the  power  shall  pass  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  Church. 

"  I  am  not  clear  that  it  is  proper  to  disband  a  Church  that  has  not  forfeited  its  claims  to 
visibility,  except  it  is  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  its  members.  The  word  voluntary^  as 
applied  to  Church  organization,  has  an  equivocal,  if  not  a  malignant  import,  and  should  bo 
used  in  a  guarded  sense,  or  not  used  at  all.  The  Church  is  as  much  the  imperative  state  of  a 
Christian  people  as  the  state  of  laws  and  society  is  the  imperative  state  of  rational  beings. 
Church  associations  are  of  the  nature  of  o  contract,  and  they  are  understood  to  be  permanent. 
Rights  are  created  by  these  associations,  or  at  least  recognized  by  them  ;  and  these  rights  are 
to  be  respected,  until  at  least  they  are  voluntarily  surrendered.  If,  without  common  consent, 
a  Church  is  disbanded,  some  are  forced  into  other  churches  against  their  will,  or  they  are  left 
by  the  wayside,  deserted  of  those  who  engaged  to  watch  over  them,  and  to  walk  with  them  in 
all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord.  I  have  no  difficulty  in  regard  to  the  union 
of  the  churches,  or  the  distribution  of  the  members  of  one  Church  among  many,  provided  it  is 
done  with  the  concurrence  of  those  interested.  I  do  not  say  that  any  one  is  obliged  to  remain 
in  a  Church  because  it  is  reduced  in  numbers  ;  for  the  liberty  of  transferring  one's  relations  to 
another  Church  is  understood  when  he  joins  a  Church  ;  but  I  know  of  no  liberty  he  has,  on 
leaving  a  Church,  to  pull  down  the  house  where  others  have  found  a  refuge,  and  would  still 
seek  one  "  —  Memoir,  by  Rev.  J.  Torrey,  D.  D.  (Boston,  1861.   12mo,  pp.  368,)  p.  70. 

On  the  other  side  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  following  opinion  of  Rev.  Calvin  Hitchcock, 
D.  D.,  who  warmly  urges  :  — 

"  Church  covenants  have  been  revised  and  altered  in  numerous  instances,  and  since  the 
days  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  some  scores  of '  half-way  covenants  '  have  been  dissolved.  AVas  not 
this  done  by  majorities  ?    Was  Edwards  obliged  to  wait  till  every  man  in  the  Church  would 

agree  to  abolish  a  half-way  covenant,  before  the  thing  could  be  done  ? It  belongs 

to  the  very  genius  of  Congregationalism  to  have  the  right  to  modify  a  covenant,  because  it 
arose,  and  has  lived,  in  opposition  to  an  established  religion.  If  we  may  not  modify  a  cove- 
nant, we  have  as  truly  an  established  religion  as  any  in  the  world.  Any  obstruction  which  we 
throw  in  the  way  of  so  doing,  would  be  suicidal.    If  the  next  generation  shall  introduce  un- 


.  284  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Section  13. —  The  Restoration  of  Offenders. 

The  intent  and  hope  of  Church  disciphne  is  always  of  reclama- 
tion. 

We  have  abeady  intimated^  that  the  lifting  of  the  sentence  of 
suspension,  or  exclusion,  from  a  censured  member  by  vote  of  the 
Church,  consequent  upon  their  acceptance  of  his  manifested  peni- 
tence with  its  accompanying  works,  will  restore  him  to  the  possession 
of  all  which  he  had  forfeited.  The  thus  restored  excommunicant 
does  not  need  to  "join  the  Church"  as  if  de  novo,  because  he  has 
always  remained  a  member,  though  imder  censure. 

The  only  question  relevant  to  this  heading  wliich  needs  considera- 
tion here,  is  this  :  Suppose  a  minister  who  for  any  reason  has  been 
deposed,  to  desire  —  and  in  the  judgment  of  charity,  to  deserve  — 
to  be  restored  ;  what  steps  are  orderly  to  that  end  ? 

We  have  explained^  what  we  conceive  to  be  the  proper  Congrega- 
tional method  for  the  deposition  of  an  unworthy  Pastor,  as  being  by 
the  action  of  his  Church  in  connection  with  the  advice  of  an  Ecclesi- 
astical Council.  If  such  a  deposed  minister,  becoming  penitent  and 
worthy,  wishes  to  resume  the  Pastoral  office,  and  any  Church  shall 
judge  it  suitable  that  he  sho^lld  do  so,  and  desire  him  for  its  Pastor, 
it  may  proceed  to  call  him  to  that  office,  as  it  would  invite  any  unor- 


christian  covenants,  and  some  future  Edwards  shall  be  raised  up  to  reform  churches,  shall  we 
hamper  him  with  the  rule  that  on  such  a  subject,  a  majority  shall  not  govern,  and  all  the 
stereotype  heresy  and  petrified  folly  which  a  godless  generation  shall  have  thrust  into  Church 

covenants,  must  stand  till  every  member  of  the  Church  shall  agree  to  their  removal  ? 

It  is  self-evident  that  any  authority  which  can  modify  a  covenant,  can  abolish  it.  The  Apostle 
appealed  to  our  common  sense  when  he  declared  that  only  such  things  as  cannot  be  shaken 
are  the  things  that  remain.  I  therefore  enter  my  remonstrance  against  the  proposed  rule, 
that  no  Church  can  be  dissolved  until  every  member  consents."  —  Remonstrance.  Review  of 
Howard  Street  Council,  p.  140. 

I  add  an  extract  in  the  same  line  of  thought  from  another  eminent  living  New  England 
Congregationalist  —  Rev.  N.  Bouton,  D.  D.,  of  Concord,  N.  H.     He  says  :  — 

"  1.  There  may  be  good  and  sufficient  reasons  why  a  particular  local  Church  should  be  dis- 
solved. 2.  Of  these  reasons,  a  majority  have  the  right  to  judge.  3.  The  minority  have  the 
right  to  irotest,  and,  if  they  wish  it,  to  have  the  advice  of  Council,  before  the  act,  or,  if 

aggrieved  by  the  act  of  the  majority,  have  a  right  to  appeal  to  a  Council But  to 

claim  that  they  are  the  identical  Church  which  was  disbanded  by  vote  of  the  majority,  in 
accordance  with  the  advice  of  a  Council,  seems  to  me  preposterous.  On  that  principle  a  single 
member  may  claim  to  be  "  the  Church  "  in  opposition  to  the  disbanding  vote  of  ninety-nine, 
and  contrary  also  to  the  advice  of  a  Council  thereunto."  —  Review  of  Howard  Street  Council^ 
p.  102. 

1  See  page  192.  2  See  page  206. 


HOW   CONGREGATIONALISM   WORKS.  235 

dained  man,  and  then  call  an  Ecclesiastical  Council  to  advise  with 
them.  That  Comicil  will  naturally  desire  to  be  exceedingly  thorough 
in  its  mquiries,  and  should  proceed  only  on  the  best  evidence.^  But 
if  its  members  are  satisfied  that  it  is  for  the  good  of  Christ's  cause 
that  this  once  deposed  Pastor  should  be  set  over  this  Church  in  the 
Lord,  they  will  so  advise,  and  the  subsequent  co-action  of  Church  and 
Council  in  ordaining  him  as  Pastor  will,  in  effect,  be  his  restoration 
to  the  ministry.^ 


1  "  A  deposed  minister  is  restored  by  becoming  a  pastor  of  a  Church  ;  and  whoever  is  com- 
petent to  install  is  also  competent  to  remove  a  censure,  at  least  to  the  extent  to  which  its 
authority  is  recognized ;  and  the  authority  of  no  Ecclesiastical  Council  can  extend  beyond  their 

limits An  installing  body  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  the  qualifications  and  fitness 

of  the  candidate  ;  and,  if  they  restore  to  office  one  who  has  been  deposed,  it  must  be  on  their 
own  responsibility,  and  for  reasons  that  will  commend  themselves,  first  or  last,  to  the  religious 
public,  or  they  become  liable  to  reproval  themselves."  Worthington  Smith,  D.  D.,  Torrey's 
Memoir,  p.  76. 

2  Rev.  Thomas  Cheever  [son  of  the  famous  Master  Ezekiel]  was  deposed  from  the  pastorship 
of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Maiden,  Mass.,  May  20,  1686,  by  a  Council,  and,  nearly  thirty 
years  after,  restored  by  a  Council  which  ordained  him  first  pastor  of  the  new  Church  at 
Rumney  Marsh  [Chelsea],  Mass.,  October  19,  1715. 

The  case  of  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Fairchild  is  slightly  exceptional.  He  was  conditionally  deposed 
by  a  Council  which  met  at  Exeter,  N.  H.,  July  24,  1844  ;  their  language  being,  "  unless  he  can 
present  a  clearer  vindication  of  himself  before  some  tribunal  more  competent  than  ourselves 
to  compel  the  attendance  of  witnesses,  and  the  utterance  of  all  the  truth  ;  and  till  such  act  be 
done ;  he  ought  not,  and  so  far  as  our  decision  goes,  does  not,  longer  hold  the  place  of  a  minis- 
ter in  the  Church  of  Christ."  When  acquitted  by  the  civil  court  of  the  infamous  charge  in 
reference  to  which  the  Council  had  acted,  Mr.  Fairchild  assumed  that  the  deposing  clause  of 
the  Result  of  Council  had  expired  by  its  own  limitation,  and  thenceforth  resumed  his  minis- 
try. We  think  he  was  right  in  his  judgment ;  which  was,  at  the  time,  sustained  by  Drs. 
French,  Cogswell,  Bouton,  Richards,  AVoods,  Burgess,  Perry,  Ely,  Blanchard,  Vaill,  Cum- 
mings,  and  other  eminent  Congregationalists  ;  and  subsequently  fully  endorsed  by  the  Coun- 
cil which  installed  him  over  the  "  Payson  Church,"  in  South  Boston,  November  19,  1854.  See 
Life  of  Rev.  J.  H.  Fairchild,  pp.  53-110. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

WHY  CONGBEGATIONALISM  IS  BETTER  THAN  ANT  OTHER  FORM 
OF  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT. 

"We  hold  that  this  Congregational  system,  which  we  have  shown 
to  be  founded  both  upon  Scripture  and  common  sense,  is  essentially 
superior  to  any  other  form  of  Church  government;  in  what  it  is, 
and  what  it  is  fitted  to  be  and  to  do  in  the  world.  We  speak  of  its 
natural  tendencies  and  legitimate  possibilities.  We  do  not  affirm 
that  it  has  ever  yet  done  itself  full  justice ;  nor  that  other  forms  of 
Church  life  may  not  sometimes  have  seemed  to  earn  preeminence 
over  it.  But  we  do  insist  that,  taking  the  ages  through,  and  fairly 
considering  the  relation  which  it  holds  to  the  nature  of  individual 
man,  the  tendencies  of  human  society,  the  necessities  of  the  world, 
and  the  needs  and  aims  of  the  cause  of  Christ,  it  is  best,  and  can 
justify  its  claim  to  be  such. 

We  now  proceed  briefly  to  hint  the  grounds  of  that  claim,  in  its 
most  important  particulars. 

Section  1.  It  is  more  in  accordance  with  the  mind  of  Christ 
than  any  other. 

We  do  not  affirm  that  Christ  will  not  aid  his  people  in  working 
through  any  other  system.  He  will  do  so;  has  always  wrought 
through  all  faithful  men,  however  mistaken  might  be  a  portion  of 
their  views ;  however  inexpedient  a  moiety  of  their  life.  But  He 
prefers  that  which  is  best,  and  will  most  bless  that  which  most 
deserves  his  blessing.  And  three  considerations  indicate  His  prefer- 
ence for  our  simple  polity. 

(1)  It  is  the  New  Testament  Polity.  We  have  seen  very  fiilly  in  the 
preceding  pages,  that  it  is  the  only  form  of  Church  government  which 
can  exactly  respond  to  the  few  precepts  on  that  subject  which  fell 

(236) 


WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  237 

from  Christ's  otvti  lips  ;^  that  it  is  the  form  which  the  Apostles 
impressed  upon  the  early  Chm-ch  in  the  days  of  its  purity  f  and 
that  it  is  the  form  which  nearest  answers  to  their  epistolary 
counsels.^ 

(2)  It  IS  the  Polity  with  which  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  has 
connected  the  most  remarkable  displays  of  his  grace.     The  Reforma- 

.  tion,  though  it  did  not  at  once  consistently  develop  into  Congre- 
gationalism, was  yet  founded  upon  our  fundamental  doctrine,  and 
derived  its  life  from  it,^  and  modern  revivals  and  modern  missions, 
where  they  have  not  been  a  direct  outgrowth  from  our  system,  have 
been  indirect  results  of  its  essential  principles.  Furthermore  it  will, 
if  we  mistake  not,  become  clear  to  every  reflecting  mind  that  those 
seasons  of  special  activity  and  progress  which,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
make  occasional  oases  even  in  the  dryest  deserts  of  the  history  of  the 
Church,  in  old  time,  or  new,  have  been  characterized  by  the  temporary 
approach  on  the  part  of  other  systems  to  the  methods  and  spirit  of 
our  own.^ 

(3)  It  is  the  Polity  that  most  favors  that  development  of  deep  spir- 
ituality mingled  with  earnest  personal  activity,  which  alone  can  bring 
on  the  Millennium.  We  merely  for  completeness  name  this  here ;  it 
will  be  the  subject  of  discussion  hereafter. 

It  is  not  arrogance,  in  view  of  these  considerations,  for  us  to  claim 
that  Christ  specially  loves  that  system  which  he  himself  founded,  and 
which  is  inseparably  interwoven  with  His  Word,  which  he  has  already 
peculiarly  blessed,  and  which  offers  to  him  the  most  efficient  aid  in 
His  desire  to  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied. 

Section  2.  Congregationalism  is  more  practicable  in  its  worhing 
than  any  other  system. 

If  it  be  the  duty  of  all  who  love  Christ  by  the  renewing  of  their 

1  See  pages  9,  34.  2  gee  page  13.  «  See  pages  100-110.  •*  See  page  2. 

6  The  inherent  propensities  of  every  other  form  of  Church  government  are,  so  to  speak,  cen- 
tripetal—  tending  to  throw  life  and  power  continually  in  from  the  membership,  upon  the 
hierarchy  in  its  high  or  low  type,  and  so  to  develop  weakness  and  dependence  (and  conse- 
quently a  low  spiritual  life)  in  the  individual.  The  inherent  impulse  of  Congregationalism  is, 
80  to  speak,  centrifugal,  throwing  out  life  and  power  into  the  individuals,  and  making  its  mem- 
bership feel  that  the  great  work  of  Christ  rests  on  them  as  individuals,  and  not  on  "  the 
Church."  But  the  periods  of  greatest  progress  of  the  cause  of  God  on  earth,  have  always  been 
when  the  many  have  had  a  mind  to  work,  and  when,  therefore,  the  centrifugal,  Congregational 
has,  for  the  time  being,  overcome  the  centripetal,  hierarchal,  tendency. 


238  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

mind,  in  every  place,  to  come  out  from  the  world  and  be  separate, 
and  confess  Him  before  men,  not  forsaking  the  assembling  of  them- 
selves together ;  it  becomes  a  matter  of  importance  that  due  facil- 
ities for  entering  upon  Church  relations  should  be  everywhere  within 
reach  of  the  redeemed.  If  also  the  Church  is  the  pillar  and  ground 
of  God's  truth,  the  salt  by  which  the  putrescent  moral  tendencies  of 
men  are  to  be  counteracted,  and  the  light  wherewith  the  world  is  to 
be  lighted ;  the  great  reforming,  regenerating  agency  by  whose  activ- 
ity—  divinely  farthered  and  cherished  —  it  is  eventually  to  be 
brought  about  that  God's  will  shall  be  done  in  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven  ;  it  becomes  a  matter  of  moment  that  her  influence  should 
be  as  easily  as  possible  made  operative  in  every  community.  And 
as  ages  must  necessarily  pass  during  which  the  advancing  wave 
of  population  is  rolling  on,  before  it  shall  touch  every  habitable 
place,  so  that  emigrant  peoples  will  habitually  bear  an  important 
percentage  to  the  sum  total  of  the  race;  which  emigrant  peoples 
will,  on  the  one  hand,  specially  need,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  be 
under  special  disadvantages  for  receiving,  the  influence  and  bles- 
sing of  the  Church ;  the  element  of  practicableness  becomes  an  im- 
portant one  in  weighing  the  claims  of  competing  forms  of  Church 
life ;  and,  other  things  being  equal,  that  form  of  Church  order  which 
can  be  easiest  reached  and  handled  by  a  new  and  remote  com- 
munity—  which  is  most  practicable  in  all  communities  —  must  be 
best. 

This  superior  practicableness  is  obviously  a  peculiarity  of  our 
system. 

(1)  It  is  so  in  the  formation  of  churches.  —  Wherever  any  com- 
pany of  persons  may  be,  who  are  faithful  believers  in  the  Gospel, 
and  who  desire  to  bless  themselves  and  serve  Christ  in  and  through 
a  Church  organization,  they  may  do  so  in  a  Congregational  form, 
without  any  perplexity  or  delay.  They  do  not  need  to  geographize 
and  journey,  to  discover  some  well  authenticated  aqueduct,  bringing 
the  stream  of  Ecclesiastical  life  down  from  the  hoary  past,  to  which 
they  must  attach  themselves,  or  else  be  dry  ;  they  may  dig  down  any- 
where in  the  sand,  with  the  certainty  of  finding  living  water.  Sup- 
pose they  are  grouped  upon  some  far  Pacific  slope,  hundreds  of  miles 
from  any  Church,  of  any  name,  with  communication  almost  inter- 
dicted by  the  distance  and  peril  of  the  way ;  if  they  are  to  become 


WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  239 

Paj)al,  Patriarchal,  Episcopalian,^  Methodist,^  or  Presbyterian*  in 
their  spirit  and  form  of  Church  organization,  they  must  wait  and 
work  until  they  can  put  themselves  into  communication  with  the  rest 
of  the  world,  so  as  to  get  hold  of  the  arm  of  that  particular  hier- 
archy which  they  prefer,  and  procure  its  extension  to  their  remote 
locality,  with  all  due  conditions  and  ceremonies,  for  such  cases  made 
and  provided.  All  this  involves  delay,  trouble,  expense  ;  often  dis- 
appointment and  dispersion.  Moreover,  in  its  very  nature,  this 
necessity  of  going  so  far  for,  and  making  so  much  of,  mere  forms, 
must  tend  to  magnify  forms  unduly,  and  turn  their  thoughts  away 
from  the  simplicity  of  Christ.  Still  further  they  are,  even  when 
formed,  abnormal  and  incomplete ;  lacking  the  aid,  for  the  perfect 
doing  of  all  their  work,  of  the  distant  Pope,  Bishop,  or  Presbytery. 
But  if  they  wish  to  become  a  Congregational  Church,  they  can 
become  such,  there  by  themselves,  in  a  single  hour  —  by  solemn  vote 
affiliating  for  that  purpose,  and  adopting  our  simple  creed  — just  as 
those  North  of  England  worthies,  hunted  by  the  hounds  of  the 
Establishment,  took  refuge  in  Scrooby,  and  there,  in  the  very  manor- 
house  of  the  Archbishop  of  York,  in  1606,  formed  —  without  any 
external  help  —  that  Church  which,  going  first  to  Holland,  colonized 
afterward  on  the  rock  of  Plymouth.  Such  a  Church,  on  our  princi- 
ples, is  just  as  perfect  in  its  order,  as  it  could  be  if  all  the  other 
churches  in  the  world  had  helped  to  make  it.  It  is  just  as  near  to 
Christ,  as,  and  it  may  be  a  little  nearer  than,  any  other — as  the  babe 
lies  closer  to  its  mother's  breast  than  the  older  children.  He  is  just 
as  really  its  Head,  and  it  is  just  as  truly  the  channel  of  his  power 
and  grace,  as  the  grandest  metropolitan  Church  can  be.     And  there, 

1  On  the  Episcoplian  theory  —  as  in  the  Papal  and  Greek  —  nothing  can  securely  be  done  in 
the  direction  of  a  Church,  except  by  the  agency  of  a  regular  priest  acting  under  Episcopal 
orders,  and  nobody  can  be  received  into  the  Church  by  confirmation,  but  by  the  hands  of  the 
Bishop  himself.  Humphrey's  History  of  the  Propagation  Society,  (p.  11),  shows  that  the  first 
Episcopalian  Church  in  this  country  was  "  upon  an  application  made  to  the  Bishop  of  London, 
from  several  of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston,  in  New  England,  petitioning  that  a  Church  should 
be  allowed  in  that  town,"  anl  "  a  Church  was  allowed." 

2  A  Methodist  "Society  "has  the  same  relation  in  its  origin  to  an  "  itinerant,"  that  an 
Episcopal  Church  has  to  a  priest. 

3  The  Presbyterian  rule  is,  '"for  the  organization  of  a  Church,  application  should  be  made 
to  the  Presbytery,  where  the  circumstances  permit  it.  If  this  be  not  convenient  on  account 
of  distance,  any  ordained  minister  is  competent  to  form  such  an  organization.  Application 
must  then  be  made  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment,  to  be  received  into  connection  with  the 
Presbytery  within  whose  bounds  the  Church  naturally  Ues."  Handbook  of  Pres.  Church, 
p  33. 


240  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

in  its  outward  feebleness,  and  in  that  remoteness,  its  voice  is  just  as 
imperative  as  that  of  the  oldest  and  numerically  strongest  body  of 
congenial  faith  on  earth ;  because  Christ  says,  that  "  where  two  or 
or  three  are,"  there  he  will  be,  and  because  the  comforting  and  con- 
trolling Spirit  can  dwell  in  a  little  Church  just  as  well  as  in  a  large 
one.  And  so  there  it  stands  —  home-made  and  yet  well  made  —  as 
true  a  Church  as  the  Great  Head  anywhere  surveys.  There  it  can 
advance  from  strength  to  strength,  burdened  with  no  extraneous  con- 
nections or  responsibilities ;  going  to  the  Bible  with  humble  prayer, 
and  not  to  General  Conference,  Convention,  or  Assembly,  to  find  out 
what  shall  be  its  creed,  and  what  its  life.  So  soon  as  the  growth  of 
a  community  around  it  shall  evoke  the  element  of  the  fellowship  of 
the  saints,  it  will  afiiliate  with  other  Congregational  churches  as  any 
shall  grow  up  within  its  neighborhood  ;  and  then  its  entire  complete- 
ness of  relation,  without  as  well  as  within,  will  be  secured. 

There  is  another  feature  of  the  superior  practicableness  of  the 
Congregational  system  in  the  formation  of  new  churches,  which  was 
illustrated  in  the  eai4y  days  of  Christianity,  and  which  is  now  par- 
ticularly commended  to  our  attention  by  the  present  and  prospective 
condition  of  our  own  country.  It  consists  in  its  freedom  from  all 
embarrassment  in  regard  to  form,  where  questions  of  form  would  be 
embari'assing ;  and  in  its  freedom  from  all  entangling  alliances  and 
inconvenient  precedents,  and  awkward  responsibilities,  growing  out 
of  the  relations  of  a  rigid  and  wide  spread  organism  to  the  past.  If 
our  Saviour  had  instituted  a  technical  Church  system,  having  a  nec- 
essary embodiment  in  certain  usages,  and  by  certain  officers,  and 
through  certain  far  reaching  relations  —  a  centralized  admiaistration 
with  executive  branches  —  its  progress  would  have  excited  hostility 
at  every  step,  for  it  could  have  taken  no  step  without  colliding  with 
existing  organizations,  social.  Ecclesiastical,  civil.  But  a  develop- 
ment of  Christianity  which  presented  a  faith  to  be  believed  rather 
than  a  form  to  be  adopted,  could  glide  in  between  all  barriers, 
and  establish  itself  noiselessly  as  an  imperium  in  imperio  everj- 
where ;  subsequently  embodying  its  recipients  according  to  local  con- 
venience, and  perfecting  their  Church  character  and  relation  —  and 
so  their  thorough  organic  union  to  the  Great  Head  —  without  the 
need  of  conspicuous  and  obnoxious  publicity,  and  premature  positive 
conflict  with  the  things  that  were. 


WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.  241 

This  flexibility  of  form,  which  did  such  service  in  the  beginning, 
and  has,  in  our  day,  so  much  aided  our  missionaries  in  despotic 
empires,  admirably  meets,  also,  the  conditions  of  the  newly  forming 
society  at  the  South.  Facts  are  proving  that  throughout  those  por- 
tions of  the  rebellious  territory  which  have  been  recovered  by  the 
National  Power,  and  which  are  beginning  to  crystallize  into  civil- 
ized society  once  more,  there  is  a  wide  spread  and  bitter  prejudice 
against  those  old  Church  organisms  which  had  so  much  to  do  in  pre- 
cipitating the  reckless  and  luckless  South  into  the  gulf  of  secession 
and  of  suicide.  The  great  territorial  Ecclesiastical  organizations  of 
the  Cotton  States  were  so  corrupted  by  slavery,  their  deliverances 
on  that  subject  were  so  bitter,  and  their  present  condition  is  so  unsat- 
isfactory,^ that  they  are  repudiated  and  loathed  by  multitudes  who 
now  prefer  to  connect  themselves  with  a  polity  which  is  not  merely 
historically  purer  in  that  regard,  but  whose  organic  nature  makes  it 
impossible  that,  in  any  future  event,  its  churches  can  be  made  respon- 
sible for  the  sins  of  some  backsliding  branch  of  the  same  great 
whole  elsewhere. 

Moreover  it  is  now  easy  to  establish  Congregational  churches  in 
the  South,  because  no  question  is  inevitably  raised  at  the  outset  — 
reaching  back  to  the  former  days  and  touching  the  raw  spot  —  as  to 
what  Presbytery,  Conference,  or  Bishop,  now  has  jurisdiction,  and 
must  be  propitiated  in  order  to  the  "  regularity  "  of  the  act.  By- 
gones are  left  to  be  bygones,  and  out  of  the  old  ashes  rises  a  new 
organism  independent  of  the  past,  by  the  simple  confederation  of 
kindred  believers  ;  whose  sufficiency  being  of  God  is  sufficient  unto 
itself  (under  Christ)  with  no  thanks  due  to  any  hierarchy. 

(2)  It  is  the  most  practicaUe  system  in  the  matter  of  the  pastorate. 
—  A  Congregational  Church  freely  elects  from  its  own  membership, 

1  Witness  the  following  testimony  from  an  intelligent  Southern  observer  :  —  "  The  apostacy 
of  the  Southern  churches  has  been  the  main  strength  of  the  rebellion,  stronger  even  than 
their  cannon,  for  without  such  professedly  moml  sanction,  they  could  scarcely  have  brought 
the  machinery  of  war  into  existence,  much  less  into  use.  Ecclesiastical  systems  that  for  a 
long  time  have  been  drifting  from  the  old  paths,  and  have  finally  been  perverted  to  the  pur- 
pose of  overthrowing  our  government,  and  establishing  slavery,  will  be  slow  to  return  to  pure 
Gospel  principles.  This  is  especially  true  of  denominations  the  genius  of  whose  ecclesiastical 
polity  forbids  independent  local  Church  action.  A  local  Church  bound  by  the  ecclesiastical 
chain  of  a  great  denomination,  cannot  adjust  itself  to  the  present  state  of  things,  or  take 
thorough  Gospel  ground,  without  being  denounced  as  radical  and  disorderly,  by  the  body  to 
which  it  is  amenable.  The  denomination  must  therefore  be  converted,  before  the  local 
churches  can  safely  move  in  view  of  their  systems."  —  Consregationalist,  Feb.  24,  1865. 

16 


242  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

or  invites  to  that  membership  and  then  elevates  to  its  pastorship, 
whatsoever  fit  person  it  pleases.  It  makes  such  arrangements  with 
him  in  regard  to  the  matter,  as  it  thinks  will  be  most  agreeable  to 
Christ,  its  great  invisible  Head, — taking  fraternal  counsel  in  the 
matter  from  its  sister  churches,  whenever  possible. 

But  the  local  assemblies  of  the  Papal,  Patriarchal,  English  and 
Methodist  Episcopal  churches  have  no  such  liberty  or  power,  and 
scarcely  the  semblance  of  it.  They  must  take  the  person  whom  the 
Bishop,  or  other  constituted  authority  may  send ;  like  him  or  dislike 
him  as  they  may,^  and  they  must  wait  for  him  until  he  is  sent.  The 
American  Episcopalian  and  Presbyterian  hierarchies  allow  their  local 
bodies  more  seeming  freedom  in  this  matter,  yet  retain  it  essentially 
in  their  own  control.  The  Church  Wardens  of  an  Episcopalian  parish 
nominate  a  candidate  for  its  rectorship  to  its  Bishop  —  who  confirms 
or  rejects  that  nomination  at  his  pleasure.^  So  a  Presbyterian 
Church  —  under  the  direction  of  its  Session  of  Elders,  and  by  "  the 
presence  and  counsel  of  some  neighboring  minister,"  by  commis- 
sioners nominates  its  candidate  for  the  pastoral  office  to  the  Presby- 
tery under  whose  immediate  care  the  candidate  may  happen  to  be. 
If  the  nominee  is  unordained,  that  Presbytery  present  the  call  to  him, 
or  not,  as  they  please,  in  view  of  their  judgment  of  all  the  circum- 
stances. If  the  nominee  is  a  pastor  already,  the  Presbytery,  upon 
the  whole  view  of  the  case,  either  continue  him  in  his  former  charge, 
or  translate  him,  or  refer  the  whole  affair  to  the  Synod,  as  they  deem 
to  be  most  for  the  peace  and  edification  of  the  Church.^ 

But  it  is  not  alone  in  its  superior  ability  to  secure  the  filling  of 
its  vacant  pastorates  that  our  system  has  practical  advantage  over 
others ;  it  has  no  less  preeminence  in  its  method  of  putting  its  pas- 


1  This  needa  no  proof  with  regard  to  the  Romish,  Greek,  and  English  churches.  The  Metho- 
dist Book  of  Discipline  (Part  I.,  Chap.  IV.,  Sect.  1,  Quest.  3,  Ans.  3,  and  Sect.  2,  Quest.  4, 
Ans.  3,)  decrees  the  appointment  of  preachers  to  the  hands  of  the  Bishop,  and  temporarily,  in 
his  absence  to  the  Presiding  Elder ;  the  congregation  having  no  duty  in  the  matter,  but  that 
of  submission ;  for  which  Dr.  Stevens  argues  as  being  better  than  the  Congregational  system 
because  (1)  if  left  to  the  societies,  the  largest  societies  would  choose  the  most  popular  men,  so 
that  ministerial  gifts  would  not  bo  "  distributed ;  "  (2)  the  less  able  preachers  would  be  starved 
out ;  (3)  many  societies  would  choose  the  same  men  ;  (4)  it  would  be  fatal  to  the  itinerancy,  — 
[Essay  on  Church  Polity,  p.  156  ] 

2  "  If  the  Bishop  [or  Standing  Committee,  where  there  is  temporarily  no  Bishop]  be  not 
satisfied,  he  shall  proceed  to  inquire  into  the  sufficiency  of  the  person  so  chosen,  &c.,  &c  ,  and 
shall  confirm  or  reject  the  appointment,  as  the  issue  of  that  inquiry  may  be."— [Ca?io«,  xxx., 
Sect.  2.] 

3  Book  of  Pres    Church,  U.  S.  A.,  Chaps,  xv.,  and  svi. 


WnY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  243 

tors  officially  in  place.  As  we  have  already  seen,^  the  Congrega- 
tional conception  of  ordination  (called  installation,  if  repeated  in 
the  case  of  the  same  individual,)  is,  that  it  is  the  solemn  ceremonial 
act  by  which  a  Church  places  its  official  head  (under  Christ)  over 
itself,  and  therefore  that  while  the  counsel  of  other  churches  in  the 
matter  is  desirable  and  always  to  be  had,  and  followed,  when  possi- 
ble, yet,  in  all  exigencies,  the  right  of  ordination  is  in  the  hands  of 
the  body  itself;  so  that  no  Church  need  be  hindered  and  endangered 
by  waiting  for  external  aid,  or  authority,  for  that  purpose.  The 
Church  in  Salem  ordained  its  Pastor  and  Teacher  in  the  month  fol- 
lowing its  disembarking  on  these  shores.^  The  first  Church  in  Bos- 
ton followed  the  example,  on  the  27th  August,  1630;  the  Church 
having  been  formed  on  the  30th  July  previous.^  The  first  Church 
in  Charlestown  ordained  Rev.  Thomas  James  as  its  Pastor,  on  the 
day  of  its  own  formation,  2d  Nov.  1632.^  And  so  in  the  case  of 
many  other  of  our  early  churches. 

Necessarily,  the  case  is  different  with  all  whose  theory  of  ordina- 
tion involves  certain  fixed  relations  to  the  past,  and  to  preexisting 
organisms.  The  Episcopalians  were  greatly  troubled,  for  years,  to 
get  ordained  ministers  for  their  beginnings  here;  notwithstanding 
the  important  aid  received  by  them  &om  the  "  Society  for  the  Pro- 
pagation of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts."  ^     The  Bishop  of  London 

1  See  pages  136- 145. 

2  Prince's  Annals,  sub.  June  2^1,  and  July  20,  1629. 

3  Rid.  sub.  30  July  and  27  Aug.,  1630  ;  and  Emerson's  First  Church  in  Boston,  p.  11. 
*  Budington's  First  Church  in  Charlestown,  p.  21. 

5  See  Humphrey's  History  Prop.  Soc,  pp.  24-31,  for  details  of  some  of  these  troubles. 
Bishop  Meade  says,  "  immeupe  were  the  difficulties  of  getting  a  full  supply  of  ministers  of  any 
character  ;  and  of  those  who  came,  how  few  were  faithful  and  duly  qualified  for  the  station  !  " 
[  Old  Churches,  Ministers,  and  Families  of  Virginia^  i :  14.]  The  Churchwardens  of  St.  John's 
Church,  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  wrote  to  the  Propagation  Society,  26  Dec.  1747,  mournfully 
complaining, —  "  the  Dissenters  can  with  great  ease  be  supply  ed  with  a  Teacher;  but  alas  ! 
our  infelicity  is  such  that  we  must  have  recourse  to  a  distant  aid."  Two  years  later,  25  Dec. 
1749,  they  write,  we  "  have  but  a  melancholy  prospect  before  us,  and  can  foresee  nothing  but 
ruin  of  our  Church.  We  have  already  been  deprived  for  about  two  years  of  the  ordinances  of 
our  holy  Church,  unless  occasionally  administered  by  the  neighboring  clergy,  as  it  could  con- 
sist with  their  duty  to  their  respective  Parishes."  And  the  next  year  they  say  further 
(29  May,  1750)  "  as  long  as  the  Dissenters  in  this  town  have  five  ministers  settled,  constantly 
to  officiate,  in  pub  lick,  to  visit  them  in  private,  ready  to  serve  on  any  particular  occasion,  and, 
in  a  word,  that  are  always  with  and  among  them,  and  we  can  have  none  with  us  but  once  in 
three  weeks  or  a  month,  who  resides  at  the  same  time  at  20  miles  distant,  with  a  ferry  between 
him  and  us,  which  makes  our  dependence  upon  him  at  any  particular  time  more  uncertain,  aa 
long  as  this  is  the  case,  without  a  prospect  of  being  better  provided  for,  the  difference  is  so 
great  in  their  favor  that  most  of  our  people  might  be  persuaded  to  think  it  their  duty,  in  that 


244  CONGREaATIONALISM:. 

at  first  sent  over  ordained  clergymen,^  but  subsequently  candidates 
for  orders  were  raised  up  here  and  forwarded  to  the  old  country  for 
consecration,  though  with  indifferent  success.^  The  question  even 
arose  of  sending  to  Denmark  for  help.*  At  last  an  attempt  was  made 
to  procure  the  right  of  ordination  on  this  side  the  sea,  and  in  1783, 
Samuel  Seabury  having  been  elected  Bishop  by  the  Episcopalian 
clergy  of  Connecticut,  went  to  London  to  receive  consecration  from 
the  hands  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.     But,  after  months  of 

condition  to  join  with  the  Dissenters."  [Clark's  Hist.  St.  John's  Church,  pp.  58,  64,  67.]  The 
Virginia  "  Grand  Assembly  "  passed  an  act,  17  Feb.  1644  -  5,  designed  to  relieve  the  difficulties 
felt  in  that  colony,  growing  out  of  their  inability  to  procure  mimsters  properly  consecrated, 
"  that  where  it  soe  falls  out  that  any  minister  have  induction  into  two  or  more  cures  farr  dis- 
tant one  from  another,  whereby  one  cure  must  necessarily  be  neglected,  it  shall  be  lawful  for 
the  parishioners  of  such  a  cure  to  make  vse  of  any  other  minister  as  a  lecturer  to  baptise  or 
preach,"  &c.,  &c.     [Hening's  Statutes  of  Virginia,  1619  - 1792,  i :  289.] 

1  Humphrey's  History,  p.  11 ;  Anderson's  History  Col.  Church,  i.  261,  410;  Stith^s  Virginia^ 
p.  173. 

2  "The  exact  number  of  those  that  have  gone  home  for  ordination,  from  these  Northern 
Colonies  is  fifty-two.  Of  these,  forty-two  have  returned  safely,  and  ten  have  miscarried  ;  the 
voyage  or  sickness  occasioned  by  it,  having  proved  fatal  to  near  a  fifth  part  of  them."  ''  Two 
perished  in  one  ship  upon  the  coast  of  New  Jersey,  almost  in  sight  of  their  port."  "  In  several 
instances  our  candidates  have  been  carried  into  captivity  —  thrown  into  noisome  prisons  in  an 
enemy's  country  —  and  there  languished  for  many  months  under  the  most  hideous  forms  of 
distress  and  wretchedness."  "  The  members  of  the  Church  of  England  at  Hebron,  in  Connec- 
ticut, exerted  themselves  for  near  twenty  years,  and  were  at  great  expense  in  sending  home 
four  candidates  successively,  before  they  had  the  satisfaction  of  enjoying  a  resident  missionary. 
They  first  sent  home  Mr.  Dean,  in  1745,  who  was  admitted  to  Holy  Orders,  and  appointed  by 
the  Society  [Propagation]  their  missionary  for  Hebron  ;  but  in  returning  to  his  mission,  and  to 
a  wife  and  several  small  children  who  depended  upon  him  for  their  daily  support,  he  is  sup- 
posed to  have  perished  at  sea,  neither  the  ship  nor  any  person  on  board  having  ever  been 
heard  from.  The  next  was  Mr.  Colton  ;  who  in  1752,  died  on  his  passage  from  London  to  New 
England,  and  was  buried  in  the  ocean.  The  third  candidate  sent  home  by  this  unfortunate 
people  was  Mr.  Usher  ;  who,  on  his  way  to  England,  in  1757,  was  taken  by  the  French,  thrown 
into  prison,  and  at  last  died  in  the  Castle  of  Bayonne.  The  fourth  was  Mr.  Peters  ;  who,  in 
1759,  not  long  after  his  arrival  in  England,  was  taken  with  the  small-pox,  from  which  he  had 
the  good  fortune  to  recover,  —  and  at  length,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  people,  he  arrived  at 
Hebron,  where  he  is  at  present  the  Society's  worthy  missionary."  —  [The  Appeal  defended ;  or 
the  proposed  American  Episcopate  vindicated,  ^e.,  S;c.,  by  Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler,  D.  D. 
New  Yi.rk,  1679.  8vo.  pp.  268--  pp.  120,  121,  127.]  Another  difficulty,  Dr.  Chandler  frankly 
confesses.  He  says,  "  a  very  glaring  disadvantage  to  which  the  Church  in  America  is  mani- 
festly subject,  arises  from  the  impossibility  that  a  Bishop  residing  in  England,  should  be  suffi- 
ciently acquainted  with  the  characters  of  those  who  "go  home  from  this  country  for  holy  orders. 
To  this  it  is  owing,  that  ordination  has  been  sometimes  fraudulently  and  surreptitiously  ob- 
tained by  such  w^retches,  as  are  not  only  a  scandal  to  the  Church,  but  a  disgrace  to  human 
nature."  [Appeal,  ^c,  p.  36.  Appeal  defended,  ^c,  p.  131.  See  also  Clark's  History  of  St, 
John's  Church.] 

3  The  Theological  Faculty  of  Denmark  were  consulted,  and  Count  de  Rosencrone  communi- 
cated their  favorable  reply  to  the  American  Minister  at  St.  James,  from  whom  it  was  sent  to  Con- 
gress, and  through  them  to  the  States.  But  no  steps  were  taken  further  in  that  direction . 
[See  Life  and  Works  of  John  Adams,  viii  :  198.  Also  Memoirs  of  Bishop  White,  pp.  5),  10;  and 
Hauks,\:  182.] 


WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.  245 

casuistic  delay,  his  application  was  refused.  He  then  applied  to  the 
non-juring  Bishops  of  Scotland,  who  gladly  made  him  as  much  of  a 
Bishop  as  they  could,  and  he  returned  home  "with  authority."* 
But  as  everything  —  on  the  Episcopal  theory  —  hangs  on  an  unmis- 
takable connection  with  the  Apostolical  succession  (Pope  Joan  in- 
cluded), and  as  there  were  doubts  whether  this  irregularity  might 
not  vitiate  the  grace  of  the  whole  American  Church,^  Rev.  Samuel 
Provoost  of  New  York,  and  Rev.  William  White,  of  Philadelphia, 
were  sent  to  England,  and,  after  special  act  of  Parliament,  conse- 
crated at  Lambeth,  4th  Feb.  1787,  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
the  Archbishop  of  York,  and  the  Bishops  of  Bath  and  Wells,  and 
Peterborough,  assisting.^ 

Thus  it  was  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  after  the  country  was 
settled,  and  had  Episcopalian  residents,  before  those  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  the  ordination  of  Episcopal  clergymen  here  which  were  in- 
separable from  their  system,''  could  be  removed. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  here,  had  no  existence  which  enabled  it 
to  ordain  regularly  its  candidates  for  the  pulpit,  until  the  formation 
of  a  Presbytery  in  1705,  or  1706.^ 

It  was  eighteen  years,  also,  after  Philip  Embury  gathered  the  first 

1  HoUister's  History  of  Connecticut,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  548-50. 

2  The  celebrated  Granville  Sharp  doubted  the  sufficiency  of  the  Scotch  ordinations,  and  in- 
terested himself  to  dissatisfy  American  Episcopalians  with  them,  to  Bishop  Seabury's  disadvan- 
tage ;  making  President  Manning,  of  Brown  University,  his  correspondent.  Sharp  had  in  his 
possession  documents  belonging  to  his  ancestor,  an  Archbishop  of  York,  throwing  doubt  upon 
the  regularity  and  validity  of  the  Scotch  Episcopate  ;  on  the  strength  of  which  he  labored 
through  Manning  with  Provoost  of  New  York.  The  thing  resulted  in  Provoost  and  W^hite's 
receiving  English  consecration.  The  same  qestion  of  purity  now  lies,  however,  at  the  door  of 
every  Episcopal  ordination  in  this  country  since  1792,  for  when  Bishop  Claggett  of  Maryland 
was  consecrated,  in  that  year,  Seabury  shared  with  the  other  Bishops  in  the  ceremonial ;  so 
that,  to  use  the  words  of  Dr.  Hawks,  [Contributions  to  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  United 
States,  vol.  ii :  312,]  "  not  a  Bishop  has  been  consecrated  since  Bishop  Claggett,  who  must  not, 
to  make  his  consecration  canonical,  claim  the  succession,  in  part  at  least,  through  the  Scottish 
Episcopate."  The  most  unkindest  cut  of  all  is,  that  this  Scotch  dilution  was  thus  brought 
about  by  the  Maryland  Church  with  malice  aforethought ;  expressly  "  to  prevent  thereafter 
forever,  the  possibility  of  a  question  arising  in  the  American  Episcopal  Church,  on  the  relative 
validity  of  the  English  and  Scotch  Episcopate."  [Ibid.,  p.  311.  For  interesting  facts  with 
reference  to  this  subject,  read  Bishop  Seabury  and  Bishop  Provoost,  by  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Perry, 
8vo.  pp.  20,  1862,  and  Bishop  Seabury  and  the  "  Episcopal  Recorder,''''  —  a  vindication.  8vo., 
pp.  48,  1863,  by  the  same.  Consult  also  Guild's  Life  of  Manning,  p.  358  ;  Dr.  Hawks,  vol.  i., 
chap.  10  ;  and  Anderson's  History  of  the  Colonial  Church,  iii  :  284.] 

'^  Anderson's  History  of  the  Colonial  Church,  iii :  28-"). 

*  "  For  about  two  hundred  years  did  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Virginia  try  the  experiment  of 
a  system  whose  constitution  required  such  a  head  [a  Bishop]  but  was  actually  without  it." 
[Bishop  Meade's  Old  Churches.  Ministers  and  Families  of  Virginia,  i:  15.] 

5  Gillett's  Hist.  Pres.  Church  in  U.  S.  A.,  i  :  18. 


246  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Methodist  assembly  in  the  city  of  New  York,  before,  in  1784,  Meth- 
odism was  formally  organized  here  under  IMr.  Wesley's  direction,  so 
that  its  movements  became  regular  ;  although  in  its  irregularity  it 
had  accumulated  15,000  members,  and  83  preachers.^  So  great  was 
the  annoyance  experienced  from  this  delay,  that  some  of  the  preach- 
ers sought  to  remedy  it  by  the  Congregational  ordination  of  each 
other  ;^  but  Mr.  Asbury  finally  succeeded,  after  indefatigable  toil, 
in  bringing  back  these  seceders  one  by  one,  in  procuring  the  con- 
ferences to  pronounce  these  ordinations  invalid,  and  in  so  reducing 
things  to  "  order  ; "  being  obliged,  however,  in  doing  so,  to  procure 
some  of  the  few  Episcopalian  clergy  to  travel  over  large  circuits,^ 
for  the  purpose  of  canonically  baptizing  the  children  of  the  Metho- 
dists, and  administering  to  them  the  eucharist.'* 

It  is  in  place  to  add  here,  that  the  Congregational  system  has  a  prac- 
ticableness  in  the  matter  of  the  pastorate,  superior  to  those  which  op- 
pose it,  not  merely  in  procuring  and  ordaining,  but  also — when  pain- 
fully necessary  —  in  deposing  its  incumbent.  As  we  have  shown,^ 
every  Congregational  Church  whose  pastor  becomes  unworthy,  through 
false  doctrine  or  evil  life,  both  may,  and  ought  to,  call  him  to  immedi- 
ate account.  If  fair  investigation  of  the  case  compels  the  conclusion 
that  he  has  made  himself  unfit  to  be  continued  in  his  place,  it  should 
so  far  regard  the  fellowship  of  the  churches  as  to  call  a  Council,  to 
whose  advice  the  question  of  their  duty  should  be  submitted ;  after 
which,  no  prevalent  reason  urging  a  contrary  course,  it  is  both  their 
right  and  duty  to  depose  him  from  his  ministry  over  them,  and  cut 
him  off  from  his  membership  with  them.  This  is  short  and  simple, 
yet  fair  to  all  parties,  and  sufficient  to  all  results.  Such  an  offend- 
ing pastor,  as  a  churchmember,  is  tried  by  his  peers  in  the  Church  ; 
and,  as  a  minister,  is  tried  —  to  all  intents  and  purposes  —  by  his 
ministerial  peers  in  Council  —  so  that  he  has  no  ground  of  just 
complaint.  And  if  it  be  suggested  that  he  is  exposed  to  the  force 
of  local  prejudice,  in  such  a  local  court,  it  is  fair  to  urge  in  reply  that 
he  also  receives  the  foil  benefit  of  all  local  attachment  of  friends 

1  Stevens's  Memorials  of  Methodism,  p.  35. 

2  Hawks's  Contributions,  ^c,  i :  148  ;  JanatVs  Life,  p.  111. 

8  Coke  and  More''s  Life  of  Wesley,  p.  351 ;  JarratVs  Life,  114. 

*  See  Ferris's  Original  Settlements  on  the  Delaware,  p.  147,  for  some  details  of  the  difficulty 
experienced  by  the  early  Swedish  settlements  in  this  country,  in  securing  a  clergy  deemed 
competent  by  themselves  ;  sending  in  vain  first  to  Sweden,  and  then  (1691)  to  Amsterdam. 

5  See  p.  205. 


,     L 

OK  THE  '^ 

UlTIVERSITl 

WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.        \^     ^     247,-^^  .       * 

and  neighbors,  and  if  he  cannot  justify  himself  there,  with  tn^iiSaia,^ 
it  must  be  because  he  is  essentially  unjust.  It  is  obvious  also  that 
there  is  much  less  exposure  to  circumstantial  impediments  thrown  in 
the  way  to  postpone  or  defeat  the  ends  of  justice,  in  this  simple  sys- 
tem than  in  any  other. 

In  the  Episcopalian  Church,  deprivation  of  the  clerical  office  is 
effected  by  the  sentence  of  a  court,  presided  over  by  the  Bishop  of 
the  Diocese,  and  if  the  offender  be  a  Bishop,  by  trial  before  a  court 
of  Bishops.  This  brings  in  the  elements  of  distance,  postponement, 
and  uncertainty.  The  Episcopal  Church  in  Virginia,  suffered  for 
nearly  two  centuries  with  "  unworthy  and  hireling  clergy,"  whose 
"irregularities  and  vices,  there  was  no  Ecclesiastical  discipline  to 
correct  or  punish."  ^  And  in  our  own  day,  that  Church  in  this  land 
has  borne  the  disgrace  of  being  practically  unable  to  secure  the  de- 
position of  Bishops^  whose  absence  from  that  high  office,  in  the 
general  judgment  of  the  Christian  community,  would  have  both  hon- 
ored and  purified  it. 

In  the  Methodist  Church,  a  Bishop  is  amenable  only  to  the  Gen- 
eral Conference ;  though  he  may  be  suspended  until  the  time  of  its 
meeting  by  a  special  court  of  Presiding  and  Travelling  Elders.  An 
Elder  is  tried  before  a  court  of  Travelling  Elders,  who  suspend  him, 
if  they  think  fit,  imtil  the  next  Annual  Conference ;  which  fully  con- 
siders and  determines  his  case ;  an  appeal  always  lying  from  the 
decision  of  the  Annual,  to  that  of  the  General  Conference.^ 

In  the  Presbyterian  Church,  process  against  a  minister  must  be 
initiated  before  the  Presbytery  to  which  he  belongs ;  the  prosecutor 
being  previously  warned  that  if  he  fails  to  prove  his  charges,  he  him- 
self will  come  under  censure  as  a  slanderer.  If  condemned,  the 
accused  has  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  Synod,  and  thence  to  the 
General  Assembly.  Months  and  years  may  thus  pass,  before  the  last 
appeal  is  reached ;  which,  when  it  is  reached,  may  be  under  circum- 
stances most  unfortunate,  by  reason  of  delay,  distance,  the  absence 
of  witnesses,  &c.,  for  the  ends  of  justice.* 

1  Bisbop  Meade's  Old  Churches^  ^c,  i :  15. 

2  See  the  Proceedings  of  the  Qmrt  for  the  trial  of  Rt.  Rev.  B.  T.  Onderdonk,  D.  D.,  pp.  833. 
New  York,  1845  ;  also  the  trial  of  Bishop  Doane,  as  given  in  his  Life  and  Writings,  i :  468-511, 
The  latter  gloried  in  doing  what  he  could  to  "  MAKE  THE  TRIAL  OF  A  Bishop  hard,"  on 
principle,  and  for  "  the  safety  of  the  Episcopal  order." — IbiJ.  p.  505. 

3  Book  of  Discipline,  Part  I.,  Chap.  10. 

4  See  the  case  of  Rev.  George  Bourne,  who  was  deposed,  27  Dec.  1815,  by  the  Lexington 


248  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

(3.)  Congregationalism  is  more  practicable  than  any  other  form 
of  Church  government  in  its  methods  of  worship. 

It  is  so  in  that  it  has  no  forms  which  are  essential  to  its  good 
order  and  well  being ;  but  flexibly  adapts  itself  to  any  just  taste,  and 
every  providential  need.^  Its  worship  can  be  lawfully  and  accept- 
ably rendered,  by  chant  or  song ;  through  an  exact  and  complete 
liturgy,^  or  in  the  freest  extempore  utterance ;  by  a  robed  ofl&ciator, 
or  by  one  in  the  layest  of  all  lay  attire ;  under  a 

"  High-embowed  roof, 
With  antick  pillars  massy  proof, 
And  storied  windows  richly  dight, 
Casting  a  dim  religious  light ;  " 

or  in  the  rudest  and  barest  of  all  conventicle  halls.  It  has  abso- 
lutely but  two  forms  which  approximate  toward  fixedness,  and  these 
are  only  so  far  fixed  as  that,  by  common  consent  of  propriety  and 
duty,  its  ministry  almost  invariably  use  that  formula  for  baptism, 


Presbytery,  and  whose  case  was  not  finally  settled,  on  its  ultimate  appeal  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly, until  the  session  of  1818 ;  and,  on  his  request  to  be  restored,  was  in  1824,  sent  down  to  the 
Presbytery  of  New  York,  with  instructions  to  "  continue  the  sentence  of  deposition  or  restore 
him,  as  they  may  judge  proper."  [Assemhly''s  Digest,  ed.  1858,  pp.  165-167.]  See  also  the 
cases  of  Rev.  Samuel  Barker,  deposed  in  1763,  after  having  been  in  process  of  trial  during  five 
years,  [Digest,  pp.  624-627];  Rev.  Hezekiah  Bale h,  who  was  suspended  in  1798  [Digest, 
pp.  629-634]  ;  Rev.  William  C.  Davis,  suspended  and  deposed,  Oct.  1811,  after  having  been 
on  trial  four  years  [Digest,  pp.  646-649]  ;  and  Rev.  Thomas  B.  Craighead,  suspended  by  the 
Synod  of  Kentucky  in  1809,  and  finally  conditionally  restored  on  the  decision  of  the  Assembly 
in  1824  ;  his  offence  having  been  committed  in  and  before  1806,  and  he  dying,  after  eighteen 
years  of  delay,  before  the  next  General  Assembly  could  get  a  return  from  the  Presbytery  of 
West  Tennessee,  to  whom  it  had  sent  down  his  case.— [Digest,  pp.  649 -&55.] 

1  It  is  sometimes  amusing,  to  those  who  are  irreverent  enough  to  allow  themselves  to  be 
ardused  by  it,  to  see  the  shifts  to  which  some  of  the  sects  are  put  to  save  their  homage  to 
forms.  The  first  holding  of  an  Episcopalian  service  in  a  strange  locality,  involves  an  amount 
of  solicitude  on  the  part  of  the  partially  initiated  as  to  the  finding  and  keeping  of  their  place 
in  the  Prayer  Book,  which  is  perilous  both  to  gravity  and  devotion.  While  the  official  —  not 
to  say  heartless  —  resort  to  the  form  of  prayer  for  such  cases  made  and  provided,  often  robs 
the  visit  of  such  a  clergyman  to  the  sick  room,  of  all  its  tender  comfort. 

2  Some  Congregational  churches  prefer  a  liturgy.  That  in  use  by  the  Church  under  the 
pastorate  of  Newman  Hall,  worshipping  in  Surrey  Chapel,  Blackfriars'  Road,  London,  which 
was  originally  prepared  by  Rowland  Hill,  is  an  admirable  specimen  of  what  such  a  liturgy 
may  be.  It  is  largely  indebted  to  that  of  the  Church  of  England,  yet  briefer,  more  simple, 
more  humanly  touching,  and  leaving  a  large  margin  for  the  minister's  extemporaneous  words. 
[See  Rev.  W.  L.  Gage,  in  the  Congregationalist  for  Feb.  10,  1865.]  The  Leyden  Church  in 
Boston  printed,  in  1846,  a  manual  for  their  own  use,  which  partook  largely  of  the  liturgical 
element.  The  "  Church  of  the  Pilgrims  "  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  have  lately  sanctioned  a  moderate 
infusion  of  the  same  element  in  their  Sabbath  service.  There  is  nothing  to  hinder  any  Congre- 
gitioniil  Church  which  desires  to  do  so,  from  worshipping  God  with  the  aid  of  the  full  Episoo- 
palian  service,  or  with  that  of  the  Presbyterian,  or  German  Reformed  churches,  or  with  any 
form  which  it  may  itself  desire.    No  other  Church  has  absolute  freedom  in  this  matter,  like  it. 


WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.  249 

which  is  suggested  by  Christ's  parting  words,^  and  that  method  in 
the  administration  of  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper  which  fol- 
lows most  naturally  the  record  of  the  three  Gospels,^  and  of  Paul.^ 
All  else  is  perfectly  free  to  follow  the  choice  of  the  local  assembly, 
the  convenience  of  the  hour,  the  suggestion  of  the  genius  loci,  the 
general  judgment  of  what,  on  the  whole,  is  best.  This  combines  at 
once  the  maximum  of  practicableness  with  the  minimum  of  incon- 
venience. 

It  is  not  so  tied  down  to  any  prescribed  ritual  growing  out  of  that 
order  of  fasts,  festivals,  and  commemoration  days,  which  the  Church 
of  the  past  in  its  corrupt  days  established,  that  it  cannot  accept  and 
honor  any  new  thought  which  Providence  flashes  upon  the  public 
mind  athwart  that  order.'*  Nor  are  its  ministers  obliged  to  wait  to 
hear  from  a  "  Bishop,"  before  they  can  offer  prayer  suitable  to  a 
sudden  exigence.^ 

(4.)  Congregationalism  is  more  practicable  than  any  other  form 
of  Church  government  in  all  Church  work. 

The  proper  work  of  a  Church  of  Christ  respects  the  admission 

1  Matt  xxviii :  19. 

2  Matt,  xxvi :  26-29  ;  Mark  xir:  22-25;  Luke  xxii :  19,  20. 

3  ICor.  xi:  23-26. 

4  The  death  of  President  Lincoln  threw  the  nation  into  mourning  on  the  Saturday  before 
Easter  Sunday  for  1865  ;  so  that  those  churches  which  are  bound  in  the  fetters  of  the  "  Eccle- 
siastical Year,"  were,  in  a  manner,  constrained  to  enter  upon  the  most  jubilant  seryices  of  the 
whole  twelvemonth,  while  all  others  were  weeping  and  mourning  in  their  draped  and  darkened 
sanctuaries  under  the  dreadful  pressure  of  the  most  sudden  and  poignant  grief. 

5  On  the  Saturday  of  the  President's  death,  some  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
it  is  said,  issued  a  form  of  prayer  to  be  used  in  all  the  churches  in  their  dioceses  on  the  next  day, 
with  reference  to  that  event ;  but  as  it  must  have  been  well-nigh  a  physical  impossibility  for 
that  form  to  have  seasonably  reached  their  most  remote  parishes,  some  of  their  rectors  must 
have  been  embarrassed.  A  curious  instance  of  the  infelicity  of  these  rigid  rules  occured  lately 
in  Richmond,  Va.,  since  its  occupation  by  the  National  troops.  "  General  Order,  No.  29,"  en- 
joined that "  in  all  churches  where  prayers  have  heretofore  been  offered  for  the  so-called  President 
of  the  Confederate  States,  a  similar  mark  of  respect  is  hereby  ordered  to  be  paid  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States."  The  rules  of  the  Episcopal  Church  prescribe  that  while  omissions 
may  be  made  in  its  prescribed  prayers,  no  portion  of  them  shall  be  changed^  except  by  author- 
ity from  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese.  The  prayers  heretofore  used  included  the  words  "  Confed- 
erate States,"  and  though  the  Richmond  clergymen  were  at  liberty,  and  were  willing,  to  omit 
the  objectionable  words,  they  had  no  authority  to  substitute  therefor  the  words  "  United 
States,"  and  Bishop  Johns  being  in  Halifax,  no  authorization  from  him  could  be  obtained.  In 
this  dilemma,  the  Episcopal  clergymen  waited  upon  General  Ord,  and  stated  the  case.  He 
blandly  replied,  that  the  explanation  was  quite  satisfactory,  but  the  churches  must  be  closed  ; 
they  were  in  duty  bound  to  obey  their  Ecclesiastical,  and  he  his  military,  superiors.  —  Rich- 
mond Whig,  17  April,  1865. 


250  CONGEEGATIONALISM. 

and  care  of  its  membership,  the  Christian  culture  of  that  member- 
ship, and  through  them  the  evangelization  of  the  world  around  it. 
The  New  Testament  throws  upon  the  individual  members  of  the 
Church,  as  we  have  seen,^  the  responsibility  of  keeping  the  body 
pure  from  all  who  walk  disorderly ;  which  necessarily  involves  the 
duty  on  their  part  both  of  scrutiny  over  the  admission,  and  watch- 
ftilness  over  the  life,  of  one  another.  This  duty  Congregationalism 
makes  practicable  in  the  simplest  and  directest  form,  by  committing 
the  admission  and  discipline  of  all,  to  the  scrutiny  and  vote  of  all. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Episcopal  Church  admits  its  members  only 
by  act  of  the  Bishop  on  the  certificate  of  the  Rector  ;2  the  Methodist 
Church,  by  the  Elder  in  charge  of  the  circuit,  on  recommendation 
of  a  class  leader ;  *  and  the  Presbyterian  Church,  by  vote  of  its  Ses- 
sion —  of  the  Pastor  and  Ruling  Elders ;  ^  the  membership,  in  such 
case,  having  no  direct  voice,  and  so  no  opportunity  to  discharge 

1  See  pp.  28,  and  189  - 195- 

2  It  will  be  noted  that  hopeful  piety  is  not  hinted  at  as  a  requisite  for  admission  to  the  Epis- 
copal Church,  the  rubric  being  ;  "  so  soon  as  children  are  come  to  a  competent  age,  and  can 
say  the  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  can  answer  the  other 
questions  of  the  short  catechism,  they  shall  be  brought  to  the  Bishop,  and  whensoever  the 
Bishop  shall  give  knowledge  for  children  to  be  brought  unto  him  for  their  confirmation,  the 
minister  of  every  Parish  shall  either  bring,  or  send  in  writing,  with  his  hand  subscribed  there- 
unto, the  names  of  all  such  persons  within  his  Parish,  as  he  shall  think  fit  to  be  presented  to 
the  Bishop  to  be  confirmed."  —  Prayer  Book ;    Rubric  for  Confirmation. 

3  The  Methodist  requisite  for  Church-membership  is  simply  "  a  desire  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come,  and  to  be  saved  from  their  sins,''  — such  persons  are  received,  as  above.  See  Book, 
Part  I.,  Chap.  II.,  Sect.  2.  The  Richmond,  Va.,  Religious  Herald,  of  15  Feb.,  1865,  stated 
that  the  subject  of  "  unconverted  Church-membership"  was  exciting  attention  among  Metho- 
dists in  North  Carolina,  and  added,  "  Their  Annual  Conference  for  that  State,  adopted  at  its 
last  session,  a  resolution  expressing  the  opinion,  that  '  unconverted  persons  are  not  entitled  to 
membership  in  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church.'  The  Quarterly  Conference  of  the  Catawba 
Circuit  decided  to  regard  that  resolution  '  as  not  binding,'  because  it  '  comes  in  contact  with 
the  second  article  of  the  Constitution.'  " 

4  The  theory  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  open  to  the  same  objection,  of  looseness  in  the 
admission  of  members  without  requiring  evidence  of  regeneration  as  an  indispensable  condi- 
tion ;  though  its  practice  is  believed  to  be  better  than  its  theory  in  this  particular.  Their 
canon  is,  "  children,  born  within  the  pale  of  the  visible  Church,  and  dedicated  to  God  in  bap- 
tism, are  under  the  inspection  and  government  of  the  Church  ;  and  are  to  be  taught  to  read 
and  repeat  the  catechism,  the  Apostle's  creed,  and  the  Lord's  prayer.  They  are  to  be  taught 
to  pray,  to  abhor  sin,  to  fear  God,  and  to  obey  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  —  And,  when  they  come 
to  years  of  discretion,  if  they  he  free  from  scandal,  appear  sober  and  steady^  and  to  have  suffi- 
cient knowledge  to  discern  the  Lord^s  body,  they  ought  to  b:  informed  it  is  their  duty  and  privi- 
lege to  come  to  the  Lord^s  supper.  The  years  of  discretion,  in  young  Christians,  cannot  be  pre- 
cisely fixed.  This  must  be  left  to  the  prudence  of  the  Eldership.  Th&  officers  of  the  Church 
are  the  judges  of  the  qualifications  of  those  to  be  admitted  to  sealing  ordinances,  &c.,  &o."  — 
Directory  for  Worship,  Chap,  ix.,  Sects.  1,  2. 


WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.  251 

themselves  of  their  responsibility  in  regard  to  the  increase  of  their 
number. 

So  in  the  matter  of  keeping  the  Church  pure,  in  all  other  churches 
the  trial  of  offences  is  removed  from  the  people  into  the  hands  of  the 
hierarchy ;  where,  if  a  disagreement  occurs,  the  case  is  liable  to  pass 
on  and  up  until  months,  and  very  likely  years,  may  pass  before  it 
reaches  ultimate  decision  at  the  hands  of  the  highest  authority  — 
Pope,  Patriarch,  King,  General  Convocation,  Assembly,  or  Confer- 
ence, as  the  case  may  be.  As  we  propose,  however,  to  refer  to  this 
point  more  at  large  again,  we  do  not  dwell  upon  it  here.-^ 

In  the  Christian  culture  of  its  membership,  Congregationalism  has 
superior  practicability  in  the  fact,  that  by  its  very  nature  it  makes 
continual  appeal  to  the  conscience,  the  judgment,  and  the  volition 
and  activity  of  all  its  constituent  indivicJuals  ;  while  personal  growth 
in  grace  requires  such  continual  appeal.  In  virtue  of  its  funda- 
mental principle,  which  makes  every  individual  assume,  under  Christ, 
his  own  share  of  the  direct  responsibility  of  the  success  or  failure  of 
the  Gospel;  its  natural  effect  is  to  make  its  members  considerate, 
prayerful,  earnest  —  never  allowing  them  to  throw  off  the  blame  of 
failure,  or  disaster,  upon  the  hierarchy,  or  "  the  Church."  Its  ten- 
dency is  to  bring  each  of  its  members  into  direct  contact  with  all 
practical  duty,  and  to  crowd  home  continually  upon  every  conscience 
the  fact  that  Christ  expects  every  one  to  glorify  God  in  body  and 
spirit,  which  are  His,  and  to  do  it  in  meat  and  drink  and  all  things 
—  a  tendency  obviously  of  the  highest  value  in  promoting  eminent 
piety  and  earnest  spirituality. 

We  would  be  very  far  from  asserting  that  other  families  of  be- 
lievers do  not  appreciate  the  importance  of  entire  consecration  to 
God,  and  do  not  realize  eminent  attainments  in  holiness.  "What  we 
claim,  is  that- in  doing  so,  they  are  obliged  to  work  against  some  of 
the  centripetal  and  narcotic  tendencies  of  their  polities,  while  we 
work  thus  in  directest  harmony  with  the  individualizing  and  stimu- 
lating qualities  of  our  own. 

But  this,  and  the  special  practicableness  of  Congregationalism  for 
furthering  the  work  of  the  Church  upon  the  world,  we  propose  to 
develop  more  fully  hereafter.^ 

1  See  pp.  260,  288.  «  See  p.  273. 


252  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Section  3.  Congregationalism  is  better  than  any  other  form  of 
Church  government,  because  it  tends  more  to  promote  general  intel- 
ligence. 

Its  first  principles  throw  it  upon  the  sympathy  and  respect  of  the 
masses,  and  claim  for  it  their  love  and  support ;  and  in  gaining  their 
love  and  support  it  works  them  into  its  service ;  and  its  service  is  a 
service  of  thought,  and  so  of  intellectual  quickening.  The  Church, 
Congregationally  administered,  calls  upon  every  one  of  its  members, 
even  the  humblest,  to  take  a  part  with  every  other,  in  deciding  its 
great  questions  of  faith  and  duty.  It  accustoms,  therefore,  all  its 
members  to  think,  and  compare,  and  choose,  and  act,  under  the  most 
inspiring  and  impressive  sanctions.  The  humblest  member  of  a 
Congregational  Church  may^  at  any  time,  be  called  upon  to  discuss 
—  and  perhaps,  by  his  individual  vote,  to  settle  —  a  question,  in  its 
temporal  and  eternal  Teachings  and  interests,  infinitely  graver  than 
any  on  which  our  Senators  and  Representatives  are  accustomed  to 
vote  at  Washington.  No  member  can  be  received,  none  dismissed, 
none  disciplined,  without  the  question  being  put  to  each  member  of 
the  firaternity:  What  is  right  concerning  this;  what  ought  to  be 
done  ;  what  disposal  of  it  will  most  please  Christ  ?  Thus  the  habit 
of  acting  under  responsibility,  and  with  intelligence,  is  nurtured  in 
the  community,  and  the  general  mind  is  quickened,  and  independent 
thought  and  action  promoted.  Each  man  is  treated  as  if  he  were  a 
man,  full  grown,  and  as  if  Christ  had  a  work  for  him  to  do ;  and  as 
if  all  his  choices  and  labors  were  of  everlasting  account,  and  he  must, 
therefore,  concentrate  his  whole  mind  upon  the  service.  That  in- 
tellectual labor  which  is  done  for  the  membership  of  the  hierarchal 
churches  by  their  constituted  officials,^  in  the  way  of  settling  great 
principles  of  doctrine  and  great  questions  of  policy,  Congregational- 
ism compels  her  membership  —  either  in  the  work  of  origination,  or 
the  question  of  final  concurrence  —  to  do  for  themselves ;  ^  and  so, 

1  When  the  man  sinks  under  the  polity^  he  loses  somewhat  of  his  impulse  to  form  his  own 
opinions  ;  and  is  sometimes  persuaded  to  abnegate  the  right  of  private  judgment."— Prof. 
Park's  Fitness  of  the  Church  to  the  Constitution  of  Renewed  Men,  p.  47. 

2  "  A  poor  man  in  an  established  Church  is  nothing  but  a  poor  man  ;  but  with  the  Dissent- 
ftrs,  he  is  at  the  same  time  a  moralist,  a  divine,  a  metaphysician,  and  an  ecclesiastical  politi- 
cian —  in  short,  a  kind  of  universal  scholar  and  philosopher.  He  has  a  character  for  knowl- 
edge to  maintain  as  well  as  for  morals  and  piety,  and  soon  acquires  a  degree  of  acuteness  and 
information,  to  which  his  brethren  in  the  establishment  can  make  no  pretensions.  His  ac- 
quirements, it  is  true,  may  occasionally  be  attended  with  some  inconvenience  —for  every  good 


n 


WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  253 

since  they  have  thus  to  perform  the  work  of  Kings  and  Bishops  and 
Priests,  she  makes  them  to  become  "  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  na- 
tion, a  peculiar  people,  that  they  (individually)  should  show  forth  the 
praises  of  him  who  hath  called  them  out  of  nature's  darkness  into 
his  marvellous  light,"  —  which  is  just  what  Peter  said  Christians 
ought  to  be. 

Congregationalism  —  to  use  the  words  of  one  of  its  most  eminent 
living  transatlantic  writers  —  "  covets  most  earnestly  popular  intelli- 
gence, as  the  soil  from  which  extraordinary  minds  may  be  expected 
most  naturally  to  spring  up,  and  from  which  alone  they  can  derive 
permanent  sustenance  and  power.  It  aims  to  form  intelligent 
churches  ;  it  must,  in  consequence,  have  an  intelligent  ministry ;  and 
it  must,  as  a  further  consequence,  have  its  seminaries  of  learning  to 
realize  that  intelligence.  It  rests  nothing  upon  privilege,  or  pre- 
scription, but  everything  upon  truth  and  reason.  It  leans  not  on 
extraneous  support  of  any  kind,  but  upon  its  own  intrinsic  merits. 
It  knows  that  the  learning  and  science  of  the  world  may  be  arrayed 
against  it,  and  it  is  prepared  to  do  battle  with  the  learning  and  sci- 
ence of  the  world  in  its  own  cause,  and  to  abide  single-handed  the 
issues  of  that  conflict.  This  is  the  spirit  of  our  system,  and  if  so, 
where  is  the  department  of  knowledge  with  which  it  may  not  be 
expected  to  sympathize  and  intermeddle  ?  It  may  content  itself  with 
average  attainments  for  average  purposes ;  but  it  does  not  rest  at 
that  point.  Its  argument  depends  on  a  wide  range  of  philosophy 
and  history,  and  embraces  a  multitude  of  subtle  questions  relating  to 
social  polity  and  the  nature  of  man ;  —  can  these  things  be  wisely 
dealt  with  by  the  ignorant,  or  by  only  the  moderately  informed? 
It  contemplates  changes  wliich  will  aiFect  the  whole  complexion  of 
modern  society ;  and  its  reasons  for  these  changes  must  be  shewn,  or 
its  pretensions  be  mockery."  ^ 

Not  without  some  honest  pride  may  the  Congregationalist  point 
to  New  England,  with  its  world-conceded  unusual  average  of  general 

has  some  corresponding  evil  yery  near  it  —  and  may  lead  him  to  imagine,  that  he  is  far  more 
learned  than  he  really  is.  But  this  folly  is  not  one  of  the  most  dangerous  kind ;  and,  for  our- 
selves, we  would  much  rather  fall  in  with  a  poor  and  industrious  peasant,  though  elated 
perhaps  a  little  too  much  with  his  stock  of  ecclesiastical,  and  theological,  and  metaphysical 
words  and  knowledge,  than  with  the  most  quiet  and  passive  drudge  which  the  country  can 
furnish.  The  former,  whatever  be  his  imperfections,  is  more  of  a  human  being  than  the 
latter."  —  Ballantyne's  Comparison  of  Established  and  Dissenting  Cfiurehes,  p.  200. 
1  Dr.  Vaughan's  Congresationalism  Viewed  in  Relation  to  Modem  Society,  ^c,  p.  17. 


254  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

popular  intelligence,  as  the  demonstration  of  what  that  free  religious 
system,  which  founded  her  social  as  well  as  religious  institutions,  and 
—  with  all  dilutions  and  alien  admixtures  —  has  substantially  made 
her  what  she  is,  can  do  for  the  general  culture  of  mankind.  As 
long  ago  as  the  colonial  times,  when  the  influence  of  Congregation- 
alism in  this  particular  was  here  almost  unmixed,  Governor  Hutch- 
inson remarked  that  "  men  took  sides  in  New  England  upon  mere 
speculative  points  in  government,  when  there  was  nothing  in  practice 
which  could  give  any  ground  for  forming  parties ; "  ^  and  Edmund 
Burke  declared  in  Parliament,  that  the  American  "  mode  of  profes- 
sing "  religion  was  a  "  main  cause  "  of  their  "  fierce  spirit  of  liberty." 
He  characterised  our  Congregationalism  as  "  the  dissidence  of  dissent, 
and  the  Protestantism  of  the  Protestant  religion  —  of  that  kind 
most  adverse  to  all  implicit  submission  of  mind  and  opinion,"  and  in 
remarking  upon  the  position  of  the  people  with  regard  to  intelligence, 
he  quotes  Governor  Gage  to  the  effect,  that  "  all  the  people  in  his 
government  are  lawyers,  or  smatterers  in  law,"  and  proceeds  himself 
to  characterise  them  as  "acute,  inquisitive,  dexterous,  prompt  in 
attack,  ready  in  defence,  full  of  resources.  In  other  countries,  the 
people  more  simple,  and  of  a  less  mercurial  cast,  judge  of  an  ill 
principle  in  government  only  by  an  actual  grievance;  here  they 
anticipate  the  evil,  and  judge  of  the  pressure  of  the  grievance  by  the 
baseness  of  the  principle."  ^ 

The  inevitableness  of  popular  intelligence  as  the  result  of  a  living 
Congregationalism  is  well  set  forth  by  one  of  our  own  lay  writers  — 
"  the  priest  gave  way  to  the  preacher,  and  the  gospel  was  preached. 
Tlie  ministers  were  now  to  instruct  the  people,  to  reason  before 
them  and  with  them,  to  appeal  to  them ;  and  so  by  their  very  posi- 
tion and  relation,  the  people  were  constituted  the  judges.  They 
were  called  upon  to  decide ;  they  also  reasoned."  ^  Like  its  counter- 
part in  civil  order  —  Republicanism  —  our  religious  system  cannot 
be  true  to  itself  without  favoring,  both  directly  and  indirectly,  the 
fullest  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  all  the  people.  It  is  the  friend 
of  the  masses.     Free  schools  are  among  its  means  of  grace.* 

1  Quoted  in  the  The  Pulpit  of  the  American  Revolution,  p.  xxvii. 

2  Burke's  Works,  (Bohn's  Ed.)  i :  466,  468. 

3  J.  Wingate  Thornton,  Esq.     The  Pulpit  of  the  American  Revolution,  xxvii. 

4  "  Our  fathers  acted  out  the  real  feelings  which  their  ecclesiastical  system  inspired,  when 
they  sent  preachers  to  the  red  men,  as  soon  as  they  had  built  churches  for  themselves  and 


WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.  255 

Section  4.     Congregationalism  is  superior  to  any  other  form  of 
Church  government,  because  it  naturally  tends,  more  than  any  other,  to 
promote  piety  in  its  membership. 

There  are  four  accessories  of  the  highest  form  of  piety  in  the 
Church.  It  is  needful  that  each  individual  Christian  be  thoroughly- 
aroused  to  his  duty  of  personal  responsibility,  and  then  that  he  be 
thrown  earnestly  upon  the  Bible,  and  the  Spirit,  and  the  Saviour, 
for  their  aid  and  guidance,  to  the  end  that  he  be  aroused  to  the  full 
comprehension  of  what  he  ought  to  be  and  to  do,  and  what  he  can 
be  and  do,  for  God ;  and  that,  in  the  full  understanding  of  this,  he 
may  grow  up  to  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of  Christ. 
Our  system  especially  favors  the  success  of  each  of  these  preliminary 
works. 

(1.)  Congregationalism  develops,  as  no  other  system  naturally  does, 
the  sense  of  individual  responsibility  in  private  Christians. 

Christ  left  the  command  to  his  followers  to  disciple  all  nations, 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature.  That  conmiand  was  ad- 
dressed to  those  who  loved  him,  as  individuals.  And  the  only  reason 
which  can  be  given  why  it  has  not  been  obeyed ;  why  the  earth  is 
not  now  the  Lord's,  and  the  fullness  thereof;  is  that  enough  Chris- 
tians have  not  yet  felt  their  individual  responsibility  to  that  com- 
mand, and  obeyed  it ;  by  giving  their  prayers,  their  alms,  and  them- 
selves, to  missionary  labor.  No  man  will  dare  to  say  —  since  Christ 
has  been  eighteen  centuries  waiting  to  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul, 
and  help  the  work  —  that  there  has  not  yet  been  money  enough, 
and  knowledge  enough,  and  everything  enough  in  the  world  to  have 
converted  the  whole  of  it  long  ago ;  provided  individual  Christians 
enough  had  left  money-getting,  and  politics,  and  all  sorts  of  seculari- 
ties,  and  devoted  themselvefs,  with  all  their  hearts,  to  this  preaching 
the  gospel  to  every  creature.  The  great  demand  of  Christianity,  it 
is  confessed  on  all  hands,  now  is,  to  arouse  and  deepen  and  quicken 
that  feeling  in  every  Christian  heart,  which  says  ;  "  Christ  died  for 

had  scarcely  reared  their  own  cottages,  at  the  time  of  their  beginning  to  erect  a  university  for 
the  defence  and  dissemination  of  the  Gospel ;  and  they  established  a  system  of  collegiate  in- 
struction better  fitted  for  their  times  than  the  present  system  is  for  our  times."  Prof.  Park's 
Fitness  of  the  Church,  ^c,  p.  45.  The  Synod  of  1697,  urged,  "the  interests  of  Religion  and 
good  Literature  have  been  wont  to  rise  and  fall  together."  —Elliott's  New  England,  i :  428. 


1 


256  CONGREGATIONALISM.  • 

me,  and  I  must  do  something  for  him.     That  great  command  binds 
me.     Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?  " 

But  when  we  desire  to  awaken  a  sense  of  personal  responsibility 
in  our  cliildren,  we  make  them  do  responsible  tilings.  Give  a  child 
a  sum  of  money,  and  require  him  to  expend  it  according  to  his  best 
judgment  for  the  poor ;  or  let  him  make  such  purchases  as  he 
thinks  wisest  for  the  family  —  and  you  begin,  at  once,  to  develop 
the  feeling  of  personal  responsibility.  He  is  "  somebody,"  and  he  is 
always  more  man-like  thereafter.  Trust  him  to  go  a  journey,  and 
carry  a  message  of  consequence,  and  no  wealth  of  words,  no  abun- 
dance of  books  on  journeying,  will  do  half  so  much  to  train  him,  in 
that  direction,  as  this  trusting  him  to  do  it.  This  is  common  sense 
in  everything  to  which  it  applies.  And  Congregationalism,  by  trust- 
ing everything  to  her  private  members,  trains  them  to  a  sense  of 
individual  responsibility,  which  must  be  unknown  to  the  subjects  of  an 
Ecclesiastical  hierarchy.  Every  member  of  a  Congregational  Church 
has  as  real  a  responsibility  as  any  Cardinal  who  sat  in  the  Council 
of  Trent ;  for  his  vote  says  yea  or  nay  to  every  doctrine  which  that 
Council  had  under  discussion.  Does  the  Church  languish,  our  mem- 
bership cannot  turn  to  each  other,  and  say,  '"  I  wish  our  Bishops,  or 
our  General  Assembly,  would  see  what  is  the  matter,  and  tell  us 
what  is  to  be  done."  Each  one  is  compelled  to  sit  down  for  himself 
to  devise  what  is  to  be  done ;  feeling  that  no  mitre,  nor  surplice,  nor 
convocation  comes  between  him  and  blame,  if  things  go  wrong. 
Congregationalism  places  its  members,  in  regard  to  all  Ecclesiastical 
responsibility,  precisely  where  they  are  in  the  matter  of  their  per- 
sonal salvation.  To  know  what  to  do  to  be  saved,  they  go  to  no 
Bishop,  and  to  no  Body,  and  to  no  book,  but  the  Word  of  God ;  and 
bringing  the  naked  truth  of  revelation  to  bear  upon  their  necessity, 
they  get  an  answer  to  their  question.  So,  to  know  what  to  do  in 
the  Church  —  what  is  Orthodox,  what  ii  orderly  —  they  go,  a&  be- 
fore, to  no  manual,  and  to  no  man,  but  to  the  self-same  truth  of  God 
—  and  bringing,  as  before,  its  light  to  bear  upon  their  duty,  they 
decide  and  do.  All  this  is  simple,  self-consistent,  successful.  It 
makes  intelligent,  earnest,  growing,  useful  Christians.  It  makes 
them,  consistently  with  all  the  principles  of  its  system  ;  and  not  in 
spite  of  them,  as  other  systems  must.  Hence  Congregationalism  is 
marked  by  its  missionary  spirit  and  success,  not  merely  in  its  work 


WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  257 

in  heathen  lands,  and  in  the  waste  places  of  the  West,  —  but  at  its 
own  doors  —  in  mission  schools  and  tract  distribution,  and  the  gen- 
eral home  work. 

(2.)  Congregationalism  throws  its  memhershi'p  more  directly  upon 
the  Bible,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  Saviour,  than  any  other  sys- 
tem. 

Nothing  comes  between  the  Congregationalist  and  these  original 
and  celestial  sources  of  light  and  love.  No  question  of  doctrine  or 
practice  can  be  put  to  him  which  he  may  not,  and  must  not,  natu- 
rally, take  to  them  for  answer.  We,  of  course,  would  be  far  from 
intimating  that  good  men  of  other  systems  do  not  ask  God  for  wis- 
dom, and  open  the  Bible  for  light,  but  we  do  say  that  their  systems 
not  only  do  not  so  much  favor  this,  but  do  not  even  permit  them  to 
do  it  simply  and  purely.  They  have  always  a  double  question  ;  "  is  ~1 
this  in  accordance  with  the  Book  of  Discipline  —  with  the  estab-  ' 
lished  order  of  our  Church  ?  "  as  well  as,  "  does  it  accord  with  the 
Word  of  God,  and  the  promptings  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  example  of 
Christ?" 

Now,  to  any  man  who  remembers  how  strong  is  the  tendency  of 
poor  human  nature  toward  that  which  is  material  and  visible,  instead 
of  that  which  is  unseen  and  eternal,  it  will  be  dear  that  any  system 
which  propounds  such  double  questions,  will  be  apt  to  get  its  best 
answers  to  its  easiest  inquiries,  and  that  its  tendency  will  be  very 
strong  to  incline  the  mind  to  rest  in  the  lower  authority  —  as  to  be 
assumed  to  be,  as  a  matter  of  course,  in  accordance  with  the  higher.— i 
It  takes  more  faith  to  get  an  answer  from  God  than  it  does  from  a     \ 

hierarchy,  and  therefore,  when  hierarchies  are  accessible  to  answer ) 

questions,  and  assume  the  responsibility,  faith  in  God  grows  dull.        . 

Congregationalism  has  no  ritual,  no  ceremonies,  no  book  of  disci-  \ 
pline  —  nothing  but  the  Bible  in  the  hand,  the  Spirit  in  the  heart, 
and  Christ  overhead.  That  is  all.  Its  prayers,  its  songs,  its  ser- 
mons, all  get  their  vitality  from  the  Bible,  as  the  seed  out  of  which 
they  grow ;  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the  influence  that  makes  them 
grow ;  from  the  Saviour  as  the  Good  Master,  under  whose  eye,  and 
to  please  whose  heart,  and  promote  whose  cause,  all  is  done. 

Its  methods  of  operation,  also,  all  throw  it  directly  upon  the  naked 
truth,  with  nothing  between  it  and  the  soul.     If  a  Pastor  is  to  be 
17 


258  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

chosen  or  removed ;  if  a  member  is  to  be  admitted  ol*  disciplined  — 
whatever  is  to  be  done  affecting,  in  any  way,  the  interests  of  the 
Church  or  the  general  cause,  no  Pope  nor  Bishop  settles  it ;  no 
organism  sits  in  solemn  conclave  upon  it,  and  decrees  how  it  shall 
be,  —  thrusting  themselves  and  their  dictum  between  the  Church 
/  and  the  truth ;  no  Book  of  Discipline,  or  Chapter  of  Canons  inter- 
)  poses  the  fossil  judgment  of  the  dead  ;  but  each  Church-member  is 
called  upon  (before  God,  and  in  the  love  of  Christ,  and  out  of  the 
jBible,  as  interpreted  to  him  by  the  Holy  Ghost,)  to  say  how  it 
shall  be. 
.^    All  this  magnifies  the  truth  and  makes  it  honorable.    It  forms  the 
1  habit  of  reliance  upon  the  Bible  in  all  things  —  the  custom  of  sub- 
/  mitting  every  concern  of  life  to  the  same  truth  for  decision.     It 
I   makes  independent  thinkers,  who  are  almost  necessarily  the  most 
efficient  laborers.     It  accustoms  its  subjects  to  the  most  constant 
practical  communion  with  God,  through  his  Word,  and  his  Spirit, 
and  his  Son ;   because  it  so  places  them  that  they  must  daily  do 
many  things  which  they  necessarily  feel  that  they  cannot  do  suita- 
bly —  not  even  safely  —  except  by  the  results  of  such  communion. 
They  navigate  the  ship  which  carries  them  —  they  can  lean  upon  no 
captain  or  mate  —  and  the  urgency  of  their  own  interest  in  its  for- 
tunes, as  well  as  their  desire,  for  Christ's  sake,  that  it  should  safely 
/    reach  its  desired  haven,  drives  them  daily  to  the  quadrant  and  the 
I    sun,  and  hourly  to  the  log,  and  momently  to  the  compass ;  that  they 
may  work  out  their  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling. 

It  is  agreed  that  the  Scripture  theory  of  the  most  perfect  Chris- 
tian life,  is  of  one  united  to  Christ  "  as  the  branch  is  to  the  vine ;  " 
living  in  him  ;  going  directly  to  him  with  all  perplexities,  and  getting 
from  him  a  resolution  of  all  doubts.     Now  we  maintain  that  our  sys- 
tem falls  in  with  this  theory  of  life,  and  works  directly  toward  its 
realization  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Church,  train- 
ing its  membership  to  do  that  very  thing  —  to  lean  upon  God,  with- 
,out  any  hierarchal   inventions,  which   are  interventions  —  putting 
/nothing  between  the  visible  Church  and  its  invisible  Head,  and  dis- 
Wracting  the  mind  with  no  side  issues,  confusing  it  with  no  jar  and 
/din  of  machinery.     As  in  the  old-fashioned  saw-mills,  where  one 
shaft  went  directly  from  the  crank  on  the  end  of  the  water-wheel  to 
the  saw  —  so  here,  the  motive  power  is  geared  directly  to  the  work 


' 


WHY    COl^GEEGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  259 

that  is  to  be  done.  There  is  the  least  possible  friction,  and  if  any- 
thing is  out  of  order,  there  is  but  one  place  to  be  visited  to  discover 
what  it  is.  Whereas  these  great  affiliated  liierarchies  are  like  huge 
cotton-mills,  where  thousands  of  looms  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
spindles  are  belted  together  —  there  is  story  piled  on  story ;  there 
is  confusion  and  clatter,  and  enormous  friction,  and,  when  something 
breaks,  hundreds  of  places  may  need  to  be  visited  before  it  can  be 
determined  what  it  is  that  needs  repair. 

We  do  not  claim  that  every,  or  even  any.  Congregational  Church 
is,  —  few  things  are  what  they  might  be  —  but  we  do  claim  that 
any  and  every  one  ought  to  be,  and  could  be,  and  would  be,  if  it  did 
justice  to  its  own  peculiar  principles,  such  a  nursery  of  the  highest, 
purest,  clearest,  holiest,  most  blessed  and  beneficent  communion  with 
God,  and  walk  with  him,  as  the  earth  can  see  nowhere  else,  and  as 
heaven  would  look  upon  with  strange  joy. 

Section  5.  Congregationalism  is  superior  in  that  it  more  favors 
true  Gospel  discipline,  and  so  especially  tends  to  promote  the  purity 
of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

This  has  been  hinted  already,^  but  it  demands  further  exposition. 

If  a  member  of  a  Congregational  Church  —  be  he  officer  or  private 
member  —  becomes  guilty  of  faith  or  practices  contrary  to  Godliness, 
and  inconsistent  with  Christian  purity ;  the  directions  of  the  Saviour 
in  the  eighteenth  of  Matthew  are  literally  followed.  He  is  labored 
with,  in  the  intent  to  bring  him  to  repentance  and  reformation,  by  some 
suitable  fellow  member,  who  tells  him  of  his  fault  "  alone,"  seeking  to 
"  gain  "  his  brother.  But  if  the  effort  be  unsuccessful,  and  he  will 
not  "  hear,"  the  affectionate  endeavor  is  repeated,  in  the  presence  of 
"  one  or  two  more,  that  in  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses, 
every  word  may  be  established."  ^  If  he  remain  incorrigible,  the 
matter  is  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Church,  in  its  collective  capac- 
ity ;  who  labor  with  him.  Should  he  deny  his  guilt,  a  fair  trial  is 
granted,  in  which  his  rights  are  scrupulously  guarded,  and  if  its 
result  prove  him  in  the  wrong,  they  suspend  him  from  all  privileges 
of  communion,  until  his  day  of  penitence,  or  cut  him  off  from  mem- 
bership, and  make  him  to  them  "  as  a  heathen  man,  and  a  publican." 

1  See  t)p.  41, 188  et  seq.,  and  p.  241.  2  Matt,  xviii :  16. 


260  CONGKEGATIONALISJ^r. 

If  he  feels  that  he  has  been  misunderstood  and  hardly  used,  he  can 
ask  them  to  call  with  him  a  council  of  the  delegates  of  sister  churches 
to  review  the  case,  and  give  advice.  If  they  decline  to  aid  him  in 
such  a  review,  he  can  call  such  a  council,  by  himself,  which  council, 
examining  the  case,  would  advise  all  parties  to  adhere  to,  or  suitably 
to  modify,  the  former  decision.  And  then  the  Church,  and  the 
offender,  follow  this  advice,  or  not,  as  in  their  judgment,  duty,  and 
the  will  of  Chiist,  demand.  ^ 

This  way  of  discipline  commits  the  custody  of  the  rectitude  of  the 
Church  to  the  Church  itself,  and  so  stimulates  the  individual  con- 
science, and  promotes  fidelity  and  purity.  As  every  member  of  the 
brotherhood  is  charged  before  God  with  his  own  share  of  the  respon- 
sibility of  maintaining  a  conscience  and  a  life  void  of  offence,  not 
only  for  himself,  but  for  the  whole  body  of  which  he  is  a  member,  a 
degree  of  watchfulness  and  care  is  secured  which  is  highly  favorable 
to  the  ends  of  Church  discipline,  and  which  almost  necessarily  goes 
beyond  what  is  easily  attainable  in  other  communions. 

With  them,  the  trial  of  offences  is  removed  from  the  people  into 
the  hands  of  the  hierarchy.  The  Presbyterians  provide  that  the 
"judicatory"  shall  initiate  and  carry  forward  all  Church  discipline.^ 
By  consequence,  until  the  oligarchy  of  the  session  is  ready  to  proceed 
in  the  matter,  nothing  can  be  done.  K —  through  prejudice,  or 
indifference,  or  the  fear  to  offend  important  men  —  it  is  never  ready, 
the  process  of  discipline  is  made  impossible,  since  the  complainant 
has  no  right  of  appeal  to  the  Church  as  a  body,  and  the  higher 
Church  courts,  if  requested,  may  decline  to*  interfere.^     In  the  Prot- 

1  Directory  for  Worship,  %c.,  Chap,  x.,  Sect.  2. 

2  A  case  in  point,  not  long  ago  occurred  in  the  Madison  Square  Presbyterian  Church,  in  New 
York  city.  In  the  course  of  business  transactions,  difficulties  arose  between  Mr.  George  D. 
Phelps  and  Mr.  William  E.  Dodge,  which  involved  grave  charges  of  moral  delinquency  —  of 
"gross  misrepresentation,"  "malignancy,"  "false  and  wicked  insinuations,"  "vindictive- 
ness,"  &c.,  &c.  — by  the  latter  against  the  former.  This  led  to  a  correspondence,  continued 
at  intervals  for  three  years,  or  more,  in  which  the  offender  declined  either  to  confess  the  wrong, 
or  to  refer  the  whole  matter  to  mutual  friends  for  advice  and  settlement.  Failing  in  all  such 
efforts  to  right  himself,  Mr.  Phelps,  in  April,  1862,  brought  the  matter  to  the  notice  of  the 
Session  of  the  Madison  Square  Church.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  the  parties 
and  endeavor  to  bring  about  a  settlement,  but  Mr.  Dodge  persistently  refused  to  see  either  the 
committee,  or  Mr.  Phelps.  On  the  2Cth  October,  the  committee  reported  to  the  Session  that 
they  "  had  been  unable  to  accomplish  the  objects  for  which  they  were  appointed."  The  Ses- 
sion, 4th  November,  adjourned  consideration  of  the  subject  to  allow  another  effort  at  pacifica- 
tion, and  8th  December,  an  agreement  was  signed  by  the  parties  to  submit  all  matters  to  five|, 
mutual  friends  ;  but  Mr.  Dodge  the  next  day  erased  his  name  and  repudiated  the  contract. 


WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.  261 

estant  Episcopal  Church  the  duty  of  purifying  the  Church  from 
scandal  and  offense,  seems  to  rest  primarily  on  its  rector.  The  first 
two  rubrics  of  the  Communion  service  require  the  minister  to  pre- 
vent (1)  "  open  and  notorious  evil  livers,"  &c.,  and  (2)  those  "  be- 
twixt whom  he  perceiveth  malice  and  hated  to  reign,"  from  coming 
"  to  be  partakers  of  the  Holy  Communion ; "  and  to  give  account  of 
the  same  "  to  the  Ordinary  [that  is,  the  Bishop]  as  soon  as  conven- 

On  the  18th  DecemJ)er,  the  Session,  to  whose  hands  the  matter  now  reverted,  voted,  "  that,  in 
view  of  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  iu  the  exercise  of  the  discretion  enjoined  upon 
the  Session  by  our  Book  of  Discipline,  it  is  inexpedient  for  the  Session  to  entertain  the  charges 
and  specifications  of  Mr.  Phelps  against  Mr.  Dodge,  and  that  the  same  are  hereby  dismissed." 
Mr.  Phelps  carried  his  case  up,  by  appeal  and  complaint,  to  the  Fourth  Presbytery  of  New 
York.  The  Presbytery  met  19th  January,  18C3,  specially  to  hear  the  case.  It  immediately 
adopted  the  "  General  Rules  for  Judicatories  "  in  the  appendix  of  "  the  Book  "  for  the  govern- 
ment of  its  business,  and  by  Rule  XI.,  of  that  code,  appointed  a  "Judicial  Committee  "  of  five 
ministers  and  one  Elder.  The  papers  containing  the  appeal  and  complaint  were  placed  in  the 
hands  of  this  committee.  Mr.  Phelps  attempted  to  address  the  Presbytery,  but  was  ruled  out 
of  order  by  the  moderator.  He  appealed,  but  the  Presbytery  sustained  the  decision  of  the  mod- 
erator. The  Judicial  Committee  reported  that  "  the  matter  be  dismissed,"  because  an  appeal 
or  complaint  presupposes  a  trial  with  a  result,  and  in  this  case  there  had  been  no  trial  in  the 
court  below  [the  Session]  and  so  no  appeal  could  hold.  The  Presbytery  then  heard  Mr.  Phelps 
and  the  Session,  after  which  they  sustained  the  report  dismissing  the  case.  Mr.  Phelps  gave 
notice  of  appeal  from  the  Presbytery  to  the  Synod,  but  despairing  of  obtaining  justice  by  the 
Presbyterian  Church  courts  in  fiice  of  an  opposition  so  determined  and  violent  as  he  had 
already  encountered,  he  desisted  from  all  further  attempts  in  that  direction.  The  case,  how- 
ever, came  indirectly  before  the  Synod  at  its  next  meeting,  in  their  review  of  the  records  of  the 
Fourth  Presbytery  of  New  York  ;  when  the  Synod  approved  the  record,  with  the  exception  of 
the  principle  on  which  the  Presbytery  acted,  viz :  that  there  could  be  no  appeal  except  after 
trial  of  a  cause  with  a  result,  on  which  state  of  the  case,  however,  they  took  no  action,  inas- 
much as  they  said  "  the  assumption  of  the  false  principle  has  led  to  no  result  which  makes  it 
the  duty  of  the  Synod  to  require  the  Presbytery  to  revise  and  correct  its  proceedings." 

This  case,  then,  sums  up  thus  :  One  Christian  brother  receives  gross  and  repeated  injury  — 
as  he  thinks  —  from  another  ;  he  labors  for  years  in  vain  personally,  and  through  mutual  friends, 
to  have  the  difficulty  settled ;  he»  brings  the  matter  on  complaint  before  the  Session  of  his 
Church  ;  they  dismiss  his  case  —  as  he  feels,  most  injuriously,  and  through  the  predominant 
influence  over  its  small  number,  of  relatives  and  special  friends  of  the  offender  ;  he  carries  the 
case  up  to  Presbytery,  who  coolly  tell  him  that  nothing  can  be  appealed  but  a  judgment,  after 
trial,  so  that  his  grievance  (which  has  been  specially  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  he  has  not 
been  able  to  get  any  judgment  upon  it  in  the  lower  court,)  can  receive  no  attention  there  ;  dis- 
couraged, the  injured  man  gives  up  all  hope  of  receiving  a  reasonable  settlement  of  his  case  by 
the  vaunted  Church  courts  of  Presbyterianism,  but—  as  if  to  clinch  the  nail,  and  prove  be- 
yond the  possibility  of  a  doubt,  the  essential  weakness  of  their  system  in  this  respect —  the 
Synod,  having  the  matter  subsequently  indirectly  before  them,  condemn  the  principle  on  which 
the  Presbytery  dismissed  the  case,  and  yet  approve  that  dismission  I 

For  the  facts  in  the  case,  see  The  Polity  of  Presbyterianism^  in  a  review  of  proceedings  of  a 
Session,  Presbytery,  and  Syncd  in  a  recent  ease  of  discipline,  by  J.  Holmes  Agnew,  D.  D.,  New 
York,  1864,  Svo.,  pp.  40  ;  A  New  Pfiase  in  Ecclesiastical  Law  and  Presbyterian  Church,  Gov- 
ernment, 8;c.,  8;c.  New  York:  1863,  Svo.  pp.  64  ;  Supplement  to  a  New  Phase,  ^c,  Sfc.  New 
York  :  1864,  Svo.,  pp.  30  ;  Revieio  of  the-  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Investigation  into  the 
Affairs  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawana,  and  Western  R.  R.  Co.,  S^c.  New  York:  1858,  Svo. , 
pp.64;  Railroad  Mi smanagemeut ;  the  dangers  of  exposing  it,  and  tke  difficulty  of  correcting 
it,  illustrated,  ^c,  ^c.    New  York  :  1859,  Svo.,  pp.  61,  &c.,  &c. 


262  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

iently  may  be."  ^  But  the  Canons  provide  that  it  shall  not  be  the 
duty  of  the  Bishop  to  act  in  the  case,  unless  there  be  a  complaint 
made  to  him  in  writing  by  the  injured  party.  If  such  complaint  be 
made,  the  Bishop  may  restore  him  if  he  think  fit,  or  institute  an 
inquiry  into  the  case  according  to  the  rules  of  the  diocese ;  when  in 
case  "  of  great  heinousness  of  offence  "  offenders  may  be  proceeded 
against,  to  the  depri\Tng  them  of  all  privileges  of  Church-member- 
ship, according  to  such  rules  of  court  procedure  as  the  General  Con- 
vention may  provide.^  Thus,  the  whole  matter  is  taken  even  more 
entirely  out  of  the  hands  of  the  local  body  of  believers  than  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  where  it  first  goes  to  the  session.  The  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  method,  ordains  that  discipline  shall  be  conducted  by 
the  local  preacher  before  the  local  society,  or  a  select  number  of 
them,  at  his  pleasure.  If  found  guilty  by  a  majority  vote,  the 
offender  is  to  be  expelled  by  the  preacher  having  charge  of  the  cir- 
cuit, appeal  being  allowed  the  accused  to  the  next  Quarterly  Confer- 
ence ;  the  preacher  himself  having  the  same  right  of  appeal  —  if,  in 
his  judgment,  the  majority  vote  has  not  been  right.^  It  will  be  nec- 
essary to  bear  in  mind,  however,  that  in  its  practical  working,  this 
rule  is  modified  by  the  fact  that  the  offender  may  always  be  tried  by 
a  small  committee  selected  by  the  preacher  in  charge  —  if  he  please 
to  have  it  so  ^  —  while  the  lay  members  of  the  Quarterly  Conference 
are  either  directly  or  indirectly  made  such  by  the  same  preacher ;  ^ 
so  that  the  accused  is  practically  tried,  in  the  first  instance,  by  a 
court  appointed  solely  by  the  preacher,  and,  on  appeal,  by  a  court  in 
which  the  preacher's  power  is  still  controlling,  so  far  as  the  repre- 
sentatives from  his  own  locality  is  concerned ;  and  to  which  neither 
the  accused,  nor  the  people,  have  so  much  as  the  right  of  nomination 
—  involving  possibilities  of  monstrous  injustice.® 

1  Prayer  Book.    Order  of  Communion.     Preliminary  note. 

2  Canon  XLII.,  Sect.  2.     Wilmer's  Episcopal  Manual^  p.  286. 

3  Eook  of  Discipline,  Part  I.,  Chap.  10,  Sect  4. 

4  "  The  expulsion  of  Church-members  by  a  vote  of  the.  society  is  as  absurd  in  theory,  as  it 
would  be  ruinous  in  practice." —  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal^  Not.  25,1840.  "  I  never 
knew  one  case  conducted  by  the  society.  This  committee  is  constituted  by  the  sole  will  of  the 
preacher  in  charge."     Polity  of  the  M  E.  Church,  by  D.  Plumbe,  p  26. 

6  "Nearly  every  member  of  the  Quarterly  Conference  is  appointed  to  that  body  by  the 
preacher  himself,  or  holds  his  seat  at  the  preacher's  will."  Hawley's  Congregationalism  and 
Methodism,  p.  219. 

0  A  few  years  since,  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  having  failed  in  business,  was  charged 
with  dishonesty.    A  committee  was  appointed  to  try  the  case ;  the  accused  pleading  not  guilty. 


WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  263 

How  different  are  all  these  schemes  from  the  simple,  Scriptural, 
salubrious  Congregational  way.  How  can  such  appeals,  in  various 
forms,  to  an  aristocracy,  be  made  consistent  with  Christ's  command 
to  tell  it  to  the  Church  ?  And  how  infinitely  more  kind  and  fair 
and  Christ-like,  is  our  method  of  friendly  consideration  of  the  mat- 
ter, as  among  family  friends,  and,  if  it  be  needful  to  go  to  formal 
trial,  of  trial  by  the  whole  body  of  neighbor  believers;  whose  undue 
bias  or  prejudice  would  seem  to  be  well-nigh  an  impossibility,  and 
by  whose  good  sense  the  whole  difficulty  may  be  settled  without 
troubling  remote  years  or  dignitaries. 

Section  6.- —  Congregationalism  claims  preeminence  over  all  other 
systems  of  Church  government,  in  virtue  of  its  favorable  influence 
upon  its  ministry. 

It  divorces  them  at  once  from  all  official  pride.  The  distinguish- 
ing idea  of  their  office  is  that  they  are  servants  and  not  masters  of 
the  Church.  They  owe  their  pastorship  to  the  will  of  Christ,  but  as 
expressed  by  the  vote  of  the  membership  of  the  Church ;  they  are 
liable,  at  any  moment,  to  owe  their  removal  from  it,  to  the  same 
cause.  They  can  have,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  little  or  no  fac- 
titious influence.  If  they  deserve  to  be  honored  and  loved,  they 
usually  will  be  loved  and  honored.  If  not,  their  official  position  fur- 
nishes them  no  shield.  They  stand,  and  must  stand,  upon  their  ac- 
tual merits.  If  they  show  themselves  approved  unto  God,  work- 
men that  need  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth ; 

The  evidence  was  "  common  fame."  The  committee  finally  decided  that  "  they  believed  the 
accused  had  acted  dishonestly,  though  there  was  no  positive  evidence  of  the  fact."  On  this 
result  the  preacher  in  charge  excommunicated  the  accused.  The  defendant  appealed  to  the 
Quarterly  Conference.  The  Presiding  Elder  ruled  that  "  the  opinion  of  the  brethren  expressed 
in  the  above  case  was  a  sufiicient  verdict,  and  was  actually  finding  a  person  guilty  according  to 
the  Book  of  Discipline  ;  "  whereupon  the  decision  already  made  was  confirmed.  A  petition  was 
next  sent  up  to  the  New  York  Conference,  asking  a  decision  on  this  judgment.  No  answer  was 
returned  the  first  year.  But  the  second  year  the  matter  was  referred  to  a  committee  who 
made  a  report  justifying  the  course  which  had  been  pursued  ;  which  report  was  adopted  with- 
out discussion  —  the  report  being  afterwards  withheld  from  the  baffled  seeker  after  justice,  on 
the  ground,  '•  you  might  make  a  bad  use  of  it !  "  [See  Thoughts  on  some  parts  of  the  DisciijUne 
of  the  M.  E.  Church,  by  John  W.  Barber.]  See  also  in  the  True  IFeslei/an,  18  Oct.  1845,  the 
statement  of  a  case,  like  this :  While  a  certain  appeal  to  a  Quarterly  Conference  was  pending, 
one  of  the  preachers,  discovering  "  that  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  Conference  differed 
in  opinion  from  himself,  removed  a  sufiScient  number  of  class-leaders  from  office,  and  placed 
others  in  their  stead,  who  he  knew  had  the  same  view  with  himself,"  and  thus  gained  a  major- 
ity vote,  —  all  of  which,  by  Methodist  rules,  was  perfectly  legal ! 


264  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

they  will,  ordinarily,  be  approved  of  man,  and  be  esteemed  very  highly 
in  love  for  their  work's  sake.  But  if  not,  they  can  take  shelter  be- 
hind no  vote  of  Presbytery,  nor  act  of  Conference,  nor  Bishop's 
mandate.  Moreover,  they  are  freed  from  much  temptation  which 
inevitably,  though  often  doubtless  unconsciously,  assails  the  ministers 
of  the  hierarchal  churches.  When  once  Pastor  of  a  Congregational 
Church,  such  an  one  is  essentially  as  high  in  office  as  he  ever  can  be ; 
for  each  Congregational  Church  is  on  a  par  of  essential  dignity  with 
every  other.  There  is  no  ascending  grade  of  ecclesiastical  promo- 
tion stretching  before  him  up  toward  a  Bishop's  lawn,  or  an  Arch- 
bishop's crosier,  admonishing  him  not  so  much  to  '  take  heed  to  the 
ministry  which  he  has  received  in  the  Lord,  that  he  fulfil  it,*  as  to 
take  heed  to  that  moderate,  and  conservative,  and  conciliatory  course 
towards  those  parties  in  whose  hand  it  is  to  make  great  and  to  make 
smaU  in  the  Church,  which  may  be  likely  to  result  in  the  gratifica- 
tion of  that  ambition  which  the  hierarchal  systems  create.  Many  of 
the  noblest  and  most  truly  memorable  Divines  whose  ministrations 
have  adorned  the  annals  of  Congregationalism,  have  been,  through 
life,  the  pastors  of  some  of  the  quietest  and  most  unassuming  of  her 
country  churches.'^ 

Congregationalism  favors  its  Pastors,  also,  by  the  independence 
of  position  which  it  secures  to  them.  Albert  Barnes  could  not 
•preach  the  truth  of  God  as  he  understood  it,  and  as  his  people  re- 
joiced to  hear  it,  without  being  intermeddled  with  by  the  Presby- 
tery, on  a  charge  of  heresy,  and  being  driven  out  of  the  pulpit,  and 
silenced  for  weary  months.  An  Episcopalian  Rector  cannot  ex- 
pound the  thirty-nine  Articles,  though  his  conscience  demand  it,  and 
his  parish  desire  it  never  so  much,  essentially  above  or  below  the 
grade  of  Churchmanship  of  his  Bishop,  without  risk  of  trial,  and 
perhaps  suspension  and  deposition.  In  the  Book  of  Discipline  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  we  read,  "remember!  a  Metho- 
dist Preacher  is  to  mind  every  point,  great  and  small,  in  the  Metho- 
dist Discipline  !  "  ^  and,  on  the  following  page,  his  seven  Bishops,  in 

1  William  Hubbard  and  Joseph  Dana,  lived  and  died  at  Ipswich ;  Joseph  Bellamy,  at  Beth- 
lem,  Conn. ;  Samuel  Hopkins,  at  Newport ;  Moses  Hemmenway,  at  Wells,  Me  ;  Stephen  West, 
at  Stockbridge  ;  Nathaniel  Emmons,  at  Franklin  ;  Samuel  Niles,  at  Abington  ;  Charles  Backus, 
at  Somers,  Conn. ;  Alonzo  Hyde,  at  Lee  ;  and  John  Hubbard  Church,  at  Pelham,  N.  H.  Nor 
should  it  be  forgotten  that  Richard  Salter  Storrs  still  abides  at  Braintree,  Leonard  Withington 
at  Newbury,  Jacob  Ide  at  Medway,  Noah  Porter  at  Farmington,  Conn.,  &c.,  &c. 

2  Book  of  Discipline,  Part  I.,  Chap.  4,  Sect.  9. 


WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.  265 

whose  hand  his  ecclesiastical  breath  is  ;  who  can  send  him  to  Siberia 
or  Ethiopia,  to  exercise  his  ministry,  as  they  please  —  say  to  him,  as 
the  condensation  and  consummation  of  all  their  counsel  in  regard  to 
his  duties  as  a  minister  —  "  Above  all,  if  you  labor  with  us  in  the 
Lord's  vineyard,  it  is  needful  you  should  do  that  part  of  the  work 
which  WE  advise  —  at  those  times  and  places  which  we  judge  most 
for  his  glory ! "  This  is  "  a  yoke  upon  the  neck  of  the  disciples, 
which  neither  our  fathers  nor  we  were  able  to  bear."^ 

So,  also,  Congregationalism  favors  her  mioistry,  above  other  forms 
of  Church  order,  in  the  facilities  which  she  afford  them  for  usefulness. 
It  is  an  old  maxim  that  the  less  the  harness  chafes,  the  better  the 
beast  wUl  draw  ;  and  our  ministers  are  left  to  judge  for  themselves 
what  field  of  labor  will  most  befit  their  abilities.  Each  knows  him- 
self, and  when  a  Church  invites  his  service,  he  can  tell,  much  better 
than  any  remote  or  stranger  Bishop,  or  Presbytery,  whether  it  is  the 
place  for  him  to  work  to  the  best  advantage  or  not.  And  when  his 
decision  is  made,  there  is  a  freshness  and  affection  about  it  which 
peculiarly  open  the  way  for  usefulness.  They  have  chosen  him,  and 
he  has  chosen  them  —  both  of  free  will.  He  is  their  Pastor.  They 
are  his  flock.  They  support  him.  He  serves  them  in  Christ's  name. 
Here  is  no  outward  interference  to  awaken  jealousies,  and  confuse 
the  mind.  All  is  natural,  and  favors  the  fullest  working  of  the  Gos- 
pel. If  he  is  faithful  to  them,  and  they  to  him,  this  affection,  so 
largely  facilitating  usefulness,  may  grow  stronger  through  many  de- 
lightful years.  He  can  say,  as  did  the  good  Shunamite,  "  I  dwell 
among  mine  own  people  ; "  ^  or  as  Ruth  said  to  Naomi,  "  thy  people 
shall  be  my  people,  and  thy  God  my  God ;  where  thou  diest  will  I 
die,  and  there  will  I  be  buried,  the  Lord  do  so  to  me  and  more  also, 
if  aught  but  death  part  thee  and  me."  ^  Friendships  of  years  are 
formed.  They  know  him,  and  he  learns  to  know  them ;  and  they 
trust  each  other,  and  do  each  other  good  all  the  days  of  their  life. 
Such  a  life-union,  which  accords  with  the  genius  of  our  system,  is 
like  the  marriage  relation,  which  makes  home  —  and  that  is  heaven 
on  earth ;  as  much  better  for  the  real  interests  of  all  than  the  best 
itiuerant  ministry,  as  marriage  is  always  better  than  concubinage. 
Having  in  the  passage  of  the  years  followed  them,  one  by  one,  to  the 
grave,  he  goes,  at  last,  to  lie  down  by  their  side.     No  sight  is  more 

1  Acts  xt:  10.  2  2  Kings  iv  :  13.       ,  3  Euth  i :  16, 17. 


266  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

touching  than  some  of  the  grave-yards  of  New  England,  where,  be- 
fore its  Congregationalism  became  polluted  by  the  invasion  of  the 
itinerant  element,  from  anolher  communion,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
meeting-house,  where  all  worshiped  together,  the  bodies  of  Pastor 
and  flock  sleep  sweetly,  side  by  side,  waiting  for  the  resurrection 
trump. 

Moreover,  Congregationalism  is  fitted  to  stimulate  its  ministry,  as 
no  other  system  can  naturally  do,  toward  the  highest  intellectual  and 
spiritual  attainments,  and  the  noblest  and  broadest  influence.  The 
very  facts  —  that  they  are  not  honored  because  of  their  oflSce  merely ; 
that  they  are  free  from  Ecclesiastical  temptations  ;  that  they  are  left 
independent  of  all  external  advice  or  control,  to  be  and  to  do  for 
their  people  all  which  they  can  be  and  do,  tend  to  stimvdate  them  to 
the  highest  possible  usefulness.  They  are  thrown,  by  this  very  pecu- 
liarity of  their  position,  directly  upon  God  and  Christ,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit,  for  the  supply  of  all  their  wants,  of  counsel  and  sympathy  and 
strength ;  and,  living  thus  near  to  God,  and  accustomed  to  ask  wis- 
dom directly  from  Him,  they  get  wiser  and  kindlier  answers  to  their 
daily  inquiries,  than  ever  naturally  fall  from  Prelatical  or  Presby terial 
lips.  So,  also,  the  independence  of  thought  which  prevails  in  our 
churches,  and  the  general  intelligence  which  is  stimulated  by  it,  com- 
pel the  Pastor  to  wider  research  and  deeper  thought,  and  a  higher 
level  of  general  attainment,  in  order  to  retain  his  position  as  a  ser- 
vant of  the  Church,  in  teaching  it,  and  guiding  it,  under  Christ,  in 
the  green  pastures  and  by  the  still  waters  of  prosperity  and  piety. 

Section  7.  Congregationalism  has  preeminence  over  all  opposing 
systems  in  that  its  fundamental  principles  are  more  favorable  than 
theirs  to  the  promotion  of  the  general  cause  of  Christ. 

The  advancement  of  that  cause  unfolds  itself  especially  in  three 
departments ;  the  growth  of  individual  Christians  in  grace,  and  the 
promotion  of  associated  Christian  activity  by  every  Church  upon  the 
community  around  it  —  developing  in  revivals  of  religion,  and  in  mis- 
sionary labors  reaching  out  of  itself  toward  the  distant  heathen. 

We  have  already  urged  that  our  system  has  special  fitness  under 
the  first  of  these   heads.^     We   have  alluded  also  to  the  second.^ 

1  See  page  255.  -  2  See  page  237. 


WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.  267 

But  we  desire  to  say  a  few  words  more  upon  it.  We  do  not  deny- 
that  God  has  greatly  blessed  other  denominations  of  Christians  with 
the  outpourings  of  his  Spirit ;  —  he  will  always  reward  all  true  faith 
and  honest  labor,  however  imperfect  in  its  processes.  "We  do  not 
affirm  that  the  special  advantages  of  Congi*egationalism  in  this  re- 
gard have  ever  had  justice  done  them  among  ourselves  by  a  full  ap- 
plication of  their  power.  But  we  do  claim  that  its  fundamental 
principles  give  it  special  adaptation  to  the  promotion  of  revivals  of 
religion.-^ 

(1.)  We  claim  that  they  do  so  in  virtue  of  its  special  freeness  of 
action,  and  flexibility  of  adaptation  to  varying  circumstances  that 
may  surround  it.  That  state  of  high  devotional  feeling,  and  eager 
interest  in  the  great  truths  of  the  Gospel,  which  is  commonly  called 
a  Revival  of  Religion,  is  —  we  are  not  discussing  now,  whether  it 
ought  to  be,  or  not  —  exceptional  to  the  ordinary  conditions  of  the 
Church  and  the  world.  It  makes  special  claims  upon  the  officers  and 
membership  of  the  churches.  Pastors  are  called  upon,  by  it,  to  a 
different  presentation  of  truth ;  to  warmer  and  more  solemn  appeals ; 
oflen  to  a  multiplication  of  services  undesirable  before ;  and  especial- 
ly to  an  amount  of  personal  labor  with  inquirers,  for  which  opportun- 
ity is  not  given  in  the  ordinary  experiences  of  their  office.  And 
individual  Christians  are  often  constrained  by  it  to  intermit,  for  a 
time,  the  duties  of  their  ordinary  vocations,  and  give  themselves  to 
the  sweet  work  of  persuading  those  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  who 
meet  them  half  way  in  interest,  and  whose  eager  souls  are  asking 
them,  '  what  must  we  do  to  be  saved  ? ' 

If,  now,  our  religion  is  to  imitate  that  laborious  adaptation  of  it- 
self to  all  classes  and  every  condition  of  society,  which  is  suggested 
by  the  example  of  the  great  Apostle,  who  made  himself  a  servant  to 
all  that  he  might  gain  the  more :  —  unto  the  Jews,  becoming  as  a 

1  The  Episcopalians,  as  a  body,  disbelieve  in  revivals  of  religion,  and  denounce  them.  Their 
system  has  no  place  for  them  —  although  individual  members  of  that  communion,  labor  for 
them.  One  chapter  in  a  late  work,  written  in  the  interest  of  that  sect,  is  devoted  to  the  exhi- 
bition of  the  "fanaticism  and  pernicious  influence"  of  the  great  revival  of  1857,  when  "all 
sorts  of  profane  places  were  opened  for  '  special  prayer,'  and  preaching  day  by  day."  A  number 
of  the  hymns  then  sung  (such  as  "  Just  now,"  &c.,  &c..)  are  referred  to  and  ridiculed  ;  several 
sermons  preached  against  the  revival  by  eminent  Episcopalian  divines  are  quoted  with  approval ; 
and  it  is  declared  that  "  The  Church  is  able  to  repel  the  assaults  of  fanaticism  and  does  not 
fail  to  stand  unshaken  by  them  when  they  rage  around  her."  [Recent  Recollections  of  the 
Anglo-American  Church,  ii:  179-195.] 


268  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

Jew,  that  he  might  gain  the  Jews  ;  to  them  that  were  under  the  law, 
as  under  the  law,  that  he  might  gain  them  that  were  imder  the  law  ; 
to  them  that  were  without  law,  as  without  law  (being  not  without 
law  to  God,  but  under  the  law  to  Christ,)  that  he  might  gain  them 
that  were  without  law ;  to  the  weak,  becoming  as  weak,  that  he 
might  gain  the  weak ;  and  being  made  all  things  to  all  men,  that  he 
might  by  all  means  save  some  ;  —  it  must,  not  merely  in  its  essential 
spirit,  but  in  all  its  forms  and  methods,  possess  that  flexibility  and 
power  of  instant  adaptation  to  every  possible  exigency  of  time,  place, 
and  circumstance,  which  will  enable  it  always,  aud  at  the  shortest 
notice,  to  do  the  right  thing,  at  the  right  time,  and  in  the  right  man- 
ner. Congregationalism  —  as  has  been  aptly  and  beautifully  said, 
by  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  the  New  England  pulpit  —  is 
nothing  else  than  common  sense  applied  to  the  matters  of  religion  ; 
and  common  sense  applied  to  matters  of  religion  is  just  the  thing, 
and  the  only  thing  which  is,  or  can  be,  equal  to  the  peculiar  exigen- 
cies of  a  revival  of  religion.  When  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  has  come 
down  in  great  power  —  as  it  did  so  wonderfully  through  all  our  bor- 
ders in  the  Winter  and  Spring  of  1857-8,  —  and  crowds  daily 
throng  unusual  places  of  prayer,  as  well  as  fill  the  churches  at  the 
time  of  Sabbath  worship  ;  bringing  special  requests  to  be  offered  to 
the  Lord  ;  bringing  peculiar  difficulties  to  be  solved  by  the  ministra- 
tion of  the  Word,  as  a  medium  of  the  teaching  of  the  Spirit ;  bring- 
ing unwonted  states  of  mind  to  the  hearing  of  the  Gospel ;  bringing 
spirits  burdened,  and  even  crushed,  by  the  heavy  anxieties  of  sin,  to 
be  lightened  by  the  manifestation  of  the  truth  ;  then  what  is  needed 
is  not  a  Prayer  Book,  not  a  volume  of  Homilies,  nor  any  service  that 
is  foreordained  to  meet  the  chronology  of  the  ecclesiastical  year  — 
beginning  at  Advent,  and*  proceeding  duly  through  Septuagesima, 
Sexigesima,  and  Quinquagesima  Sundays,  Easter,  Ascension,  Whit- 
Sunday,  Trinity,  and  the  twenty-seven  Sundays  after  it ;  the  circum- 
cision of  our  Lord,  the  Epiphany,  the  conversion  of  St.  Paul,  the 
Purification  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  St.  Matthias  the  Apostle,  the 
Annunciation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  so  on  in  the  order  pre- 
scribed in  the  Prayer  Book,  which  no  minister  has  any  right,. for 
himself,  to  alter  —  no  matter  what  the  exigency  that  presents  itself: 
—  but  prayer  that  will  be  prayer  for  them  because  it  will  go  up  to 
the  throne  of  grace  in  simple,  apt  language,  pouring  their  actual 


n 


WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  269 

requests  into  the  infinite  ear,  and  calling  down  upon  them  the  very- 
blessings  of  which  at  that  moment  they  feel  themselves  to  stand  in 
perishing  need ;  and  preaching  that  will  array  before  them  those  mo- 
tives, and  burnish  before  them  those  appeals,  and  press  upon  them 
those  doctrines,  which  to  them,  as  they  are,  may  helpfully  and  there- 
fore hopefully,  become  the  wisdom  of  God  and  the  power  of  God 
imto  salvation. 

Other  preachers  may  break  over  the  formal  obstacles  that  hem 
them  in  at  such  a  time,  and  may  preach  truth,  and  the  truth  which  is 
called  for  by  the  condition  of  the  people ;  but  we  claim  that  Congre- 
gationalism especially  favors  that  freeness  and  flexibility  of  religious 
movement  which  may  always  easiest  adapt  itself  to  the  exact  phase 
of  the  work  which  Providence  appoints  to  be  done.  It  has  no  sys- 
tem which  claims  particular  Sabbaths  for  particular  subjects  and  ser- 
vices ;  it  is  left  to  be  guided  always,  in  its  selection  of  topics,  by  its 
study  of  the  need  of  the  people  for  instruction,  or  reproof,  or  com- 
fort— just  as  the  physician  never  dreams  of  giving  calomel  to  all  his 
patients  on  Mondays,  and  quinine  on  Tuesdays,  and  so  on  —  with  the 
days  and  with  the  drugs  —  but  rather  feels  the  pulse  of  his  patient, 
and  notes  all  the  symptoms  of  his  malady,  and  shapes  his  prescrip- 
tions by  the  contemporaneous  demands  of  the  disease.  It  is  per- 
fectly easy  to  see,  at  a  glance,  that  the  Rubrical  system  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  American  Episcopal  churches  never  contemplates  revivals  — 
never  presupposes  any  particular  exigencies  of  spiritual  need  —  but 
lays  out  its  work  on  the  theory  of  dispensing,  in  an  orderly  and  pro- 
gressive manner,  about  so  much  Gospel  in  each  year — just  as  in 
material  things,  it  anticipates  the  usual  fall  of  rain,  and  the  ordinary- 
visitations  of  the  sunshine.  In  case  of  fearfal  drought,  or  appalling 
pestilence,  or  sudden  invasion,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  —  or 
the  Bishop,  or  Bench  of  Bishops  here  —  must  write  a  prayer,  which 
may  then  be  circulated  among  the  clergy,  and  not  until  that  time  can 
the  Lord  be  called  upon,  in  a  lawful  manner,  by  the  great  congrega- 
tion, to  be  merciful  and  to  spare  his  people,  and  bless  his  heritage, 
in  the  particular  manner  which  their  particular  exigency  requires. 

It  is  over  Episcopacy  in  all  its  forms  that  Congregationalism  has 
special  advantage  in  this  particular.  In  like  manner  we  claim  that 
it  has  advantage, 

(2.)  In  its  want  of  reliance  upon  anything  formal,  or  ritual,  for 


270  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

salvation.  The  first  necessity  of  right  teaching  in  a  revival  of  re- 
ligion, or,  in  the  aim  to  produce  one,  is  to  impress  upon  the  soul  the 
indispensable  and  immediate  necessity  of  penitently  believing  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  unto  salvation.  Every  other  reliance  must  be 
swept  out  of  the  way.  All  confidence  in  good  works  must  be 
destroyed.  All  idea  that  the  being  baptized,  or  the  partaking  of  the 
sacrament,  or  the  regular  attendance  upon  the  means  of  grace,  or  a 
scrupulous  morality,  with  the  ability  to  "  say  the  Creed,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  also  to  answer  such  other 
Questions  as  in  the  short  Catechism  are  contained ; "  ^  or  anything 
that  can  be  done  by  a  man,  or  can  be  done  to  him,  that  is  not  repent- 
ance and  faith  in  the  crucified  Redeemer,  will  save  him,  must  be 
renounced,  at  once  and  forever.  Only  when  the  sinner  is  convinced 
that  his  sins  are  many,  and  great,  and  grievous  to  be  borne,  and  fatal 
in  their  tendency ;  that  left  to  himself,  he  has  no  power  at  all,  be- 
cause he  will  never  have  any  effectual  desire,  to  work  out  his  own 
salvation  ;  that  all  his  sufficiency  must  be  of  God's  grace  ;  that  that 
grace  is  only  promised  to  him  who  makes  now  the  accepted  time,  and 
the  day  of  salvation ;  that  there  is,  therefore,  no  reasonable  hope 
that  he  will  ever  be  cleansed  by  the  washing  of  i*egeneration,  and 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  shed  on  him  abundantly,  through  Jesus 
Christ  the  Saviour,  unless,  without  the  delay  of  a  moment,  he  be- 
comes reconciled  to  God,  by  the  death  of  his  Son  ;  only  then  is  he 
brought  into  that  position  of  soul  into  which  he  can  be  saved. 

Such  teachings  then  must  be  considered  essential  to  a  Revival  of 
Religion.  He  who  teaches  sinners  this,  may  rightfully  be  said  to  be 
laboring  to  produce  a  Revival.  And  that  system  of  church  order 
which  especially  favors  such  teaching  may,  without  impropriety,  be 
'  claimed  to  be  specially  congenial  toward  that  cooperative  energy  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  which,  in  that  teaching,  it  constantly  invites. 

Far  be  it  from  us  to  claim  that  such  teaching  as  this  is  confined  to 
Congregationalism.  StUl,  those  creeds  and  methods  of  labor  which 
are  most  often  found  in  connection  with  it,  and  with  which  it  is  pop- 
ularly identified,  do  specially  renounce  and  condemn  all  reliance  upon 
rites,  and  forms,  and  do  press  upon  the  sinner  the  duty  of  immediate 
repentance  and  faith,  as  the  absolute  condition  of  being  saved ;  and 

1  See  "  Order  of  Confirmation,"  Prayer  Book  of  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 


WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  271 

hold  that  Church  membership,  and  the  reception  of  the  sacraments, 
require  them  as  mdispensable  preliminaries ;  in  opposition  alike  to 
the  Episcopal  theory  before  noted,  and  the  Methodist  idea  of  admit- 
ting to  quasi  membership  in  the  Church  (and  hence,  by  inevitable 
popular  inference,  admitting  to  heaven  also,)  those  who  merely  have 
a  "  desire  of  salvation."  ^  So  that,  however  nearly  some  other  denom- 
inations of  Christians  may  share  this  advantage  with  it,  it  is  neverthe- 
less true  that  Congregationalism,  more  than  some  other  systems,  and 
at  least,  equally  with  any,  is  in  this  particular  specially  adapted  to 
promote  revivals  of  religion,  by  the  point  and  practicalness  and  fer- 
vor of  its  public  and  private  ordinary  method  of  appeals.  Consider, 
again  in  immediate  connection  with  this  :  — 

(3.)  The  high  character  of  its  spiritual  demands.  We  are  confi- 
dent that  no  other  form  of  Church  order  is  naturally  led  to  be  so 
vivid  and  constant  in  its  appeals  from  the  higher  motives  of  the  gos- 
pel, to  those  who  are  imder  its  influence.  The  creed  usually  associ- 
ated with  it  is  thoroughly  and  earnestly  evangelical ;  the  preaching 
of  its  ministry  is  nearly  always  direct  and  pointed  —  giving  no  quar- 
ter to  sin,  and  demanding  for  God  the  instant  and  entire  surrender 
of  the  soul ;  while  the  preponderating  influence  of  its  working,  as  a 
system,  is  calculated  to  highten  the  popular  conception  of  the  impor- 
tance of  religious  verities  over  all  other  things.  Truth  —  the  truth 
of  God,  sublime,  eternal,  saving  or  condemning  —  fiimishes  the  root 
and  heart  of  its  chief  interest  and  influence ;  so  that  if  it  have  not 
that,  it  has  nothing  with  which  to  grapple  itself  to  the  affections  of 
men.  Its  unadorned  and  often  unimpressive  sanctuaries,  the  plain- 
ness and  simplicity  of  its  methods  of  worship,  the  absence  from  its 
public  services  of  assthetic  beauty  and  ritual  splendor,  and  of  almost 
every  such  thing  which,  in  connection  with  other  forms  of  worship, 
attracts  and  delights  the  multitude,  throw  it  back  with  hightened 
necessity  upon  its  underlying  doctrines,  for  its  practical  hold  upon 
men ;  and  this  is  the  main  reason  why  it  is  nearly  impossible  for  the 
Congregational  polity  to  work  well  in  the  hands  of  those  who  ignore 
or  deny  the  essential  doctrines  of  the  Cross  ;  and  why  it  sets  them  to 
complaining  of  its  barrenness,  and  coldness,  and  lack  of  interest,  and 


1  "  There  is  only  one  condition  previously  required  of  those  who  desire  admission  into  these 
Societies  [Methodists  call  their  churches  United  Societies,]  \\z:  'a  desire  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come,  and  to  be  saved  from  their  sins.' "  —  Methodist  Discipline,  Part  I.,  chap.  11.,  sec.  1,  (4). 


272  CONGREGATIONAJ.ISM. 

puts  them  to  inventing  new  elements  of  variety,  and  to  hankering 
after  some  liturgical  additions  to  its  worship,  and  some  "  Broad 
Church  "  method  of  working  up  toward  it  the  sympathy  of  the  masses. 

Being  that  system  of  religious  working  which  we  believe  was 
divinely  intended  to  put  the  least  machinery  of  ceremony  and  office 
between  divine  truth  and  human  hearts  —  which  all  will  at  any  rate 
probably  admit  actually  does  so  —  it  must  follow,  on  the  one  hand, 
that  Congregationalism  wUl  fail  powerfully  to  affect  men  unless  the 
truth  which  is  in  it  affects  them,  and,  on  the  other,  that  when  it  is 
true  to  itself —  and  so  to  its  Divine  Author  —  it  must  specially  press 
upon  all  who  come  under  its  influence,  the  vast  import  of  the  plan  of 
salvation,  and  the  glorious  realities  of  the  government  of  God. 

But,  in  so  far  as  it  does  this,  it  works  specially  and  directly  toward 
that  state  of  things  which  we  call  a  Revival  of  Religion  —  which 
never  can  exist  imtil  men  are  brought  face  to  face  with  truth,  and 
which  God's  promises  make  sure,  whenever  and  wherever  that  truth 
is  pressed  upon  the  soul,  with  no  disturbing  or  beclouding  medium 
between ;  and  when,  in  all  its  length  and  breadth,  and  hight  and 
depth,  its  claims  are  crowded  into  direct  contact  with  human  con- 
sciousness. 

(4.)  Furthermore,  we  submit  that  Congregationalism  is  specially 
adapted  to  promote  Revivals  of  Religion,  in  virtue  of  its  constant 
training  toward  dependence  upon  Divine  aid.  Revivals  are,  in  a 
special  manner,  God's  work.  It  must  be  the  Lord  of  Hosts  who 
opens  the  v/indows  of  heaven  to  pour  upon  the  ministry  of  his  word, 
and  the  individual  labor  of  his  professed  followers,  a  blessing,  that 
there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it.  No  dependence  upon 
an  arm  of  flesh  will  avail  anything  for  this  end.  The  Divine  sover- 
eignty, while  mercifiil  in  its  intimations  of  willingness  to  bless  on 
prescribed  conditions,  is  yet  jealous  of  the  honor  of  the  great  work 
of  saving  men ;  and  where  attention  is  diverted  from  God,  as  the  sole 
as  well  as  supreme  source  of  spiritual  healing,  by  the  intervention  of 
any  ecclesiasticism,  there  is,  by  so  much,  a  lessened  likelihood  of 
Divine  interposition,  for  it  is  "  not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my 
Spirit,  saith  the  Lord."  Accordingly,  that  system  of  religious  faith 
and  order  which  trains  it  adherents  to  look  most  directly  to  God  as 
its  guide  and  strength ;  which  rests  most  entirely  and  lovingly  upon 
his  Word  for  constant  direction  in  little  things  and  great  things; 


WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  273 

which  most  appeals  to  his  Spirit  for  light  upon  all  its  ordinary  works 
and  ways,  will  —  so  far  as  it  is  faithful  to  its  principles  —  perma- 
nently abide  in  that  condition  of  special  nearness  of  access  to  the 
Great  Head  of  the  Church,  which  will  most  favor  and  promote  his 
intervention  in  the  form  of  Revivals  of  Religion. 

Now  it  is  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  Congregationalism, 
that  it  puts  nothing  between  the  individual  soul  and  God  —  as  a 
friend,  counsellor,  and  guide.  In  the  matter  of  personal  salvation,  it 
prescribes  no  baptismal  purification,  no  atoning  life  of  penance  or 
good  works,  no  ecclesiastical  grace  of  any  kind,  but  remits  the  in- 
quiring soul  directly  to  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the 
sins  of  the  world.  And  when  that  soul  has  believed,  and  hopefully 
been  washed  and  sanctified,  and  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God,  and  has  come  into  the  covenant 
relations  of  the  Church,  it  puts  it  under  the  tutelage  of  no  Priest 
nor  Bishop  nor  Council  nor  Articles  nor  Canons ;  it  relieves  it  in  no 
one  particular  of  the  entire  responsibility  of  all  its  relations  to  God 
and  to  man;  and  sends  it  directly  to  God  and  to  Christ,  in  the 
Word,  and  in  the  teaching  of  the  Spirit,  for  all  light  —  for  its  own 
conduct,  and  for  its  share  of  the  responsibilities  of  the  organization. 
If  a  question  of  import  arises  —  as  whether  such  or  such  a  doctrine 
is  to  be  taught  or  suffered  in  the  Church  ;  or  whether  such  or  such 
conduct  in  a  brother  is  consistent  with  Christian  principle  and  cove- 
nant obligations,  every  individual  member  of  the  Church  is  directly 
charged,  as  before  God,  with  the  responsibility  of  the  decision ;  and 
must  go  to  God,  in  prayer  and  faith,  to  find  the  answer  which  pleases 
Him.  No  rubric  fetters  it ;  no  decree  of  General  Assembly,  or  Pres- 
bytery, or  Bench  of  Bishops,  or  Council,  or  of  any  other  Church ; 
no  judgment  of  the  past ;  not  even  any  suggestions  of  the  present, 
can  come  in  to  take  off,  hardly  to  lighten,  this  load  of  direct  respon- 
sibility to  God,  and  absolute  dependence  upon  Him,  which  Congre- 
gationalism, in  its  very  essence,  fastens  upon  every  believer.  And 
by  this  training,  we  hold  that  this  system  proves  itself  specially  con- 
genial to  Revivals  of  Religion,  by  pressing  the  Church  to  ask  for  and 
receive  them. 

(5.)    But  that  peculiarity  in  Congregationalism  as  a  system  of 
Church  order  and  labor,  which,  in  contrast  with  all  other  systems, 
most  clearly  gives  it  an  advantage  in  the  matter  under  consideration, 
18 


274  congregItionalism. 

is  its  intense  development  of  individualism  in  all  its  Churcli  member- 
ship. It  is  the  only  form  of  Church  working  in  which  the  responsi- 
bility of  activity  and  success,  or  of  sluggishness  and  failure  is  thrown 
directly,  always,  and  fully,  upon  each  one  of  those  who  are  associated 
mider  it ;  in  which  the  duty  and  the  privilege  of  every  Church  act, 
as  well  as  of  all  individual  Christian  acts,  are  lodged  with  the  individ- 
uals who  compose  the  Church.  In  the  monarchic  forms  of  Church 
government,  the  responsibility  and  the  power  are  with  the  hierarchy, 
in  whatever  guise  it  appears,  and  each  private  member  is  taught  that 
for  him  obedience  is  the  first  duty,  so  that  if  things  go  right,  or  go 
wrong,  no  immediate  responsibility  rests  upon  him,  unless  he  has 
failed  to  do  something  which  it  has  commanded  him  to  do.  In  other 
words,  the  hierarchy  steps  in  between  the  individual  Christian  and 
his  God,  adjusting  his  relations,  assuming  his  responsibility,  and 
claiming  his  submission.  In  the  aristocratic  form  of  Church  govern- 
ment the  same  thing,  for  substance,  is  done  by  the  "  Session,"  or  the 
"  Council,"  who  receive  members  and  dismiss  them,  and  discipline 
them,  and  so,  in  like  manner,  step  in  between  the  individual  and  the 
Great  Head ;  and  train  all  the  membership  practically  to  feel  that 
the  responsibility  is  with  the  Church,  as  a  body,  or  with  its  judicatories, 
and  not  upon  them,  and  each  of  them,  as  before  God  bound  to  give 
answer  for  all.  But  Congregationalism  rests  all  upon  each.  Every 
member  of  its  churches  it  holds  responsible,  in  his  measure,  for  the 
soundness  of  its  creed,  the  wisdom  and  energy  of  its  management, 
the  success  or  failure  of  its  endeavors  to  do  good.  It  trains  each  one 
to  feel  that  if  things  go  wrong,  he  cannot  reasonably  throw  off  the 
blame  upon  the  shoulders  of  "  the  Church  "  as  a  body,  nor  upon  the 
pastor  and  officers,  nor  upon  any  person  or  persons  other  than  him- 
self. It  teaches  each  one  that  there  is  a  responsible  sense  in  which 
he  may  use  Paul's  words :  "  Who  is  weak  and  I  am  not  weak  ? 
Who  is  offended  and  I  bum  not  ?  "  It  hightens  aU  motives  to  in- 
dividual activity,  not  merely  by  pressing  them  upon  the  souls  of  its 
members  with  aU  the  force  of  the  Word  of  God,  but  by  arranging 
all  its  processes  so  as  to  favor  their  development,  and  further  their 
working.  It  is  always  repeating  the  last  command  of  Christ  in  the 
ear  of  each  of  its  faithful  ones  ;  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  It  stimulates  its  laity  to  work  in 
Sabbath  Schools,  and  Mission  Schools;  in  tract  distribution,  and 


"WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.       •  275 

visiting  from  house  to  house,  among  the  poor  and  the  abandoned ;  to 
fill  their  pockets  with  appeals  and  their  mouths  with  arguments,  that 
they  may  sow  the  seed  of  Divine  truth  beside  all  waters,  and  in  all 
way-side  paths.  "  By  all  means  save  some,"  is  the  motto  which 
it  embroiders,  from  the  lips  of  Paul,  upon  the  pennon  waving  from 
the  lance  which  it  puts  into  the  hand  of  every  one  of  its  private  sol- 
diers, as  it  sends  them  forth  to  the  battle  of  the  most  high  God.  "We 
do  not  deny  that  other  forms  of  Church  government  do  often  seek 
to  stimulate  their  membership  to  these  same  individual  toils  and 
triumphs,  but  what  we  claim  is  that  no  other  system  does,  or  can, 
logically  do  so.  It  is  only  by  deserting,  and  in  some  cases,  by  doing 
violence  to,  its  own  first  principles,  that  any  other  system  can  appeal, 
as  ours  always  and  inevitably  does,  to  the  individual  force  of  its 
communion.  Most  others  are  afraid  to  trust  the  people.  A  prayer 
meeting,  even,  that  should  not  be  presided  over  by  the  "proper 
authorities,"  —  likely  enough,  then,  so  programmed  beforehand  as  to 
prevent  all  but  persons  previously  invited  from  taking  part  in  its 
services  —  would  seriously  alarm  them.  They  cannot  understand 
how  there  can  be  freedom  without  misrule  and  misfortune ;  any 
more  than  the  old  subjects  of  the  European  despotisms  can  under- 
stand how  we  can  be  safe  in  this  country  without  bayoneted  sentinels 
on  every  corner.  But  Congregationalism  trusts  the  people  ;  educates 
them ;  leans  upon  them  and  each  of  them ;  trains  them  to  under- 
stand that  God  has  left  the  work  of  reconciling  the  world  to  himself 
through  the  death  of  his  Son  —  so  far  as  human  agency  goes  —  for 
them  to  do,  and  commands  them  to  do  it  in  his  name,  and  for  his 
sake,  and  in  personal  dependence  upon  him ;  tells  them,  however 
ignorant  and  weak  they  may  be,  to  remember  that  God  hath  "  chosen 
the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise,  and  the  weak 
things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  which  are  mighty ; "  tells 
them  that  a  Church  is  not  a  mysterious  galvanic  battery  of  spiritual 
power,  but  rather  a  regimental  organization,  by  means  of  which  the 
individual  soldiers  can  best  be  trained  for,  and  marched  into  the  fight ; 
that  pastors  are  captains  under  the  "  Great  Captain  "  of  salvation, 
whose  function  is  rather  to  lead  and  guide  the  masses  in  their  work, 
than  to  do  the  work  in  their  stead. 

Thus  teaching,  we  claim  that  Congregationalism  equally  fits  its 
membership  for  that  individual  labor  with  the  impenitent,  and  that 


276  Congregationalism:. 

individual  faithfulness  in  prayer  and  every  good  work,  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  demands  as  the  great  requisite  of  human  cooperation  in 
its  redeeming  work  in  revivals  of  religion.  The  great  revival  of 
1857,  was  peculiarly  marked  in  this  direction.  The  Congregational 
churches  every  where  fell  in  at  once  and  entirely  with  its  claims  for, 
individual  work,  while  other  systems  were  obliged  to  desert  their 
own  peculiarities,  and,  in  a  manner,  Congregationalize  themselves, 
before  they  could  become  largely  the  channels  of  its  power  of  spirit- 
ual healing.  Daily  noon-day  prayer  meetings,  in  unconsecrated 
rooms,  presided  over  by  Christian  laymen,  and  open  to  the  speech 
even  of  the  young,  were  strictly  Congregational  means  of  grace ;  ^ 
and  all  remember  how  vast  and  vital  was  their  connection  with  the 
glorious  result.  Nor  will  it  be  forgotten  that  such  Congregational 
churches  as  departed  most  widely  from  the  democratic  freedom  of 
their  own  system,  and  most  assimilated  their  methods  of  labor  and 
worship  to  those  of  the  hierarchal  systems,  shared  least  in  the  bless- 
ing that  then  descended. 

While,  then,  Congregationalists  have  never  in  one  single  instance 
done  full  justice  to  the  capabilities  of  their  simple  and  Scriptural  sys- 
tem in  the  direction  now  indicated,  and  while  God  wUl  bless  all  who 
truly  love  him,  and  sincerely  try,  at  whatever  disadvantage,  to  ad- 
vance the  coming  of  his  kingdom ;  these  considerations  urge,  that  no 
form  of  polity  so  invites,  or  can  so  readily  and  naturally  cooperate 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  in  its  copious  descents  of  mercy,  as  that  which, 
reproducing  here  the  Apostolic  pattern,  first  planted  itself,  in  this 
hemisphere,  on  Plymouth  Rock. 

A  similar  especial  fitness,  as  might  be  anticipated  from  the  fact 
that  it  worked  so  well  in  the  Apostolic  times,  has  been  developed  by 
our  system  for  the  foreign  missionary  field.     The  Congregational 

1  It  is  only  a  few  years  since  so  much,  and  so  bitter,  objection  was  made  in  the  Episcopalian 
Church  in  this  country  against  prayer  meetings  (as  being  of  evil  t«ndency  and  subversive  of 
the  principles  of  "  the  Church  ;  "  that  lay  exhortation  is  unlawful,  and  extempore  prayer 
schismatic,  &c.,  &c  ,)  that  Bishop  Griswold  was  moved  to  vrrite  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject,  [Re- 
marks  on  Social  Prayer-Meetings^  by  Rt.  Rev.  A.  V.  Griswold.  Boston,  1858,  pp.  99]  ;  and  the 
"High  "  portion  of  that  Church  remains  of  the  same  mind  still. 

An  eminent  and  catholic  Englishman  wrote,  not  longer  ago  than  1848,  "  the  Anglican 
churches  have  sunk  into  a  low  religious  state.  In  a  great  majority  of  parishes,  as  we  have  too 
much  reason  to  fear,  the  Gospel  is  not  preached,  and  the  people  are  indifferent  to  religion."  — 
Hon.  and  Rev.  Baptist  Noel's  Essay  on  the  Union  of  Church  and  State,  p.  420. 


Xv"^       or  THE  '^ 

UNIVBESITY 

WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  \^      /y  ^        25>kr         ^  K 

churches  were  the  first  in  this  country  to  move  in  that  direct 
experience  has  settled  it,  that  in  remote  missionary  work  the  system 
of  local  Church  organization,  unhampered  by  vital  connections  with 
other,  distant,  and  uncongenial  fields  and  central  organizations,  is 
the  best  ^  —  nay,  that  something  like  it,  is  almost  the  only  one  prac- 
ticable.^ 

Section  8.  Congregationalism  is  better  than  any  other  form  of 
government  for  the  Church,  because  it  furnishes  a  more  effective  har- 
rier than  any  other,  against  heresy  and  false  doctrine. 

(1.)  It  favors  less  than  any  other  the  development  of  doctrinal 
error.  The  history  of  the  Church  teaches  that  the  sources  of  heresy 
have  been  mainly  four,  viz :  corrupt  tendencies  in  human  nature ; 
paganism ;  unchristian  philosophy  ;  and  ambition,  with  other  motives 
connected  with  and  growing  out  of  hierarchal  influence.  To  the 
first  of  these,  the  Congregational  churches  —  if  they  are  true  to  them- 
selves —  are  less  exposed  than  any  others,  because  their  system,  in 
throwing  them  upon  God,  and  Christ,  and  the  Spirit,  more  practically 


1  The  "  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  "  was  formed  by  the  General 
Association  of  the  Congregational  Churches  of  Massachusetts,  at  Bradford.  29  June,  1810. 

2  See  Report  of  the  Special  Committee  on  the  Deputation  to  India.     1856,  pp.  43-47. 

3  The  members  of  the  Ceylon  Mission  say,  in  1855,  "  in  regard  to  the  form  of  organization 
and  the  officers  most  proper  for  native  churches,  we  stand  on  higher  than  sectarian  ground. 
Our  commission  is  not  to  proselyte,  but  to  preach  the  Gospel ;  and  whatever  preferences  we 
individually  cherish  for  specific  forms  of  Church  government  and  discipline,  however  desirable 
or  necessary  they  may  be  considered  in  those  lands  that  have  been  long  favored  with  the  light 
and  influence  of  the  Gospel  and  its  ordinances,  we  are  convinced  that  the  most  plain  and  simple 
organisations  are,  by  far,  the  best  for  the  training  and  discipline  of  the  native  converts  in  this 
field."  [Minutes  of  the  Special  M'Cting  of  the  Ceylon  Mission,  May,  1855,  p.  34.]  So  the  Madura 
Mission  say,  "  Mission  churches  obviously  require  the  utmost  simplicity  of  structure  ;  and  all 
that  they  require,  and  all  that  is  good  for  them,  may  be  learned  from  the  New  Testament.    A 

local  Church  is  God's  institution No  improvement  can  be  made  on  the  simplicity  and 

the  efficacy  of  the  New  Testament  plan  for  propagating  the  Gospel  among  the  heathen  ;  what- 
ever may  be  thought  of  the  application  of  it  to  the  old  Christian  communities  of  Europe  and 
America."  [Minutes  of  the  Special  Meeting  of  the  Madura  Mission,  held  at  Madura,  March, 
1S55,  pp.  112,  113.]  A  Conference  of  Missionaries  held  at  Constantinople  in  November,  1855, 
said,  "  when,  in  1846,  the  Armenian  Mission  was  called  to  propose  a  basis  of  Church  organiza- 
tion, there  were  brethren  of  several  different  Ecclesiastical  connections  engaged  in  the  discus- 
sion and  charged  with  the  responsibility  of  this  great  work  ;  yet  no  one  sought  to  have  his 
denominational  peculiarities  transferred  to  the  infant  churches  of  this  land.  It  was  agreed, 
without  a  single  dissenting  voice,  to  propose  for  the  adoption  of  our  Armenian  brethren,  a  sim- 
ple, Scriptural  organization,  without  any  reference  to  the  particular  constitutions  or  rules  of 
our  respective  organizations."  [Report,  p.  13.]  Something  a  little  different  and  more  Presby- 
terian was  tried  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  but  worked  badly  and  had  to  be  modified  into  some- 
thing much  nearer  Congregationalism.     [  The  Hawaiian  Islands,  pp.  307-314  ] 


278  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

and  continually  than  any  other,  and  promoting  revivals  and  a  high 
tone  of  piety  among  their  members,  antidotes  those  tendencies  of 
human  nature,  and  tends  to  save  their  piety  from  losing  its  savor 
through  them.  To  the  second,  Congregationalism  opposes  special  re- 
sistance in  the  fact  that  its  peculiarities  are  exactly  antipodal  to  those 
peculiarities  of  paganism  by  which  it  most  tends  to  corrupt  the  faith, 
and  so  make  it  less  in  danger  from  them  than  if  it  lay  more  within 
the  range  of  their  probable  influence.  The  three  most  dangerous 
elements  of  paganism  have  proved  to  be  its  fondness  for  gorgeous  and 
pompous  ceremonials,  its  multiplicity  of  objects  of  worship,  and  its 
absolute  rehance  upon  things  done  {opus  operatum)  at  appointed 
times  —  rather  than  motives  behind  them,  and  states  of  mind  revealed 
by  them  —  for  acceptance.  So  long  as  the  simplicity  of  early  Congre- 
gationalism remained,  it  was  able  to  resist  these  tendencies,  and  to 
keep  itself  pure.  But  so  soon  as  the  churches  began  to  lose  their 
original  peculiarities,  and  to  take  on  a  hierarchal  form,  they  fell  into 
these  temptations,  and  became  corrupted  by  them,  until  in  a  little 
time  it  was  not  always  easy  to  distinguish  between  a  pagan  and  a 
"  Christian "  assembly  and  service.*  When,  in  the  days  of  the  Re- 
formation, and  after,  the  spirit  of  original  Congregationalism  reas- 
serted itself,  its  urgency  was  especially  manifest  in  casting  all  this 
paganism  out  of  the  churches,  and  recovering  them  to  the  old-fash- 
ioned simple,  and  simply-administered  doctrines  of  grace.  And  it 
is  a  fact  to-day,  that  no  churches  on  the  earth  are  so  pure  from  all 
taint  of  the  old  leaven  of  paganism,  as  the  Congregational  churches 
of  England  and  America."^     To  the  third  source  of  false  doctrine, 

1  "  In  these  times  [the  times  of  early  hierarchal  corruption]  the  religion  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  differed  Tery  little  in  its  external  appearance  from  that  of  the  Christians.  They  had 
both  a  most  pompous  and  splendid  ritual,  gorgeous  robes,  miters,  tiaras,  wax  tapers,  crosiers, 
processions,  lustrations,  images,  gold  and  silver  vases  ;  and  many  such  circumstances  of  pa- 
geantry were  equally  to  be  seen  in  the  heathen  temples,  and  the  Christian  churches."  —  Mos- 
heim,  FccUs.  Hist,  i  ,  393,  394. 

"  The  sublime  and  simple  theology  of  the  primitive  Christians  was  gradually  corrupted  :  and 
the  monarchy  of  Heaven,  already  clouded  by  metaphysical  subtleties,  was  degraded  by  the  in- 
troduction of  a  popular  mythology  [of  saints  and  martyrs,]  which  tended  to  restore  the  reign 

of  polytheism If  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  Tertullian  or  Lactantius,  had 

been  suddenly  raised  from  the  dead,  to  assist  at  the  festival  of  some  popular  saint  or  martyr, 
they  would  have  gazed  with  astonishment  and  indignation  on  the  profane  spectacle  which  had 

succeeded  to  the  pure  and  spiritual  worship  of  a  Christian  congregation The  religion 

of  Constantine  achieved,  in  less  than  a  century,  the  final  conquest  of  the  Roman  Empire  :  but 
the  victors  themselves  were  insensibly  subdued  by  the  arts  of  their  vanquished  rivals."  —  Gib- 
bon.    Roman  Empire,  iii.,  482. 

2  The  hierarchal  churches  need  not  be  specified  as  redolent  of  the  taint  of  heathenism  at 


WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  279 

the  speculations  of  an  unchristian  philosophy,  Congregationalism 
opposes  the  influential  fact  that  she  rests  the  purity  of  the  faith  of 
her  churches  upon  the  masses  who  compose  their  membership,  and 
not  upon  the  few  cultivated  and  ambitious  —  and  likely  to  be  erratic 
—  who  set  themselves  up  as  a  hierarchy  over  them.  The  philoso- 
phy of  the  subject,  and  the  history  of  the  past  combine  together  to 
give  equal  and  abundant  proof  that  there  is  no  security  so  absolute, 
under  God,  for  a  pure  faith,  as  the  Christian  common  sense  of  the 
great  mass  of  believers  enlightened  and  purified  by  the  constant  in- 
fluence of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  when  it  is  allowed  to  do  its  proper  work. 
In  point  of  fact  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  a  vote  for  any  invasion 
upon  the  old  creed  of  orthodoxy  from  a  Congregational  Church,  that 
has  remained  true  to  Congregational  principles,  after  never  so  long 
and  labored  endeavor  on  the  part  of  the  few  of  learning  and  influ- 
ence who  desire  the  change.^  The  Unitarian  heresy  came  into  New 
England  only  through  the  fact  that  many  of  the  Congregational 
churches  had,  for  years  previous,  departed  from  one  of  their  fun- 
damental principles,  and  received  unregenerate  members  to  their 
communion ;  so  that  here  and  there  the  body  of  the  Church  had  thus 
become  corrupt,  and  in  that  manner  the  way  was  prepared  for  cor- 
ruption in  the  creed.  From  all  hierarchal  corruptions,  our  churches 
are  radically  free.  Their  purity  of  faith  is  not  endangered  by  a 
latitudinarian  pastor  forced  upon  them  whether  they  will  or  no ;  nor 
by  a  creed  modified  without  their  consent,  by  "  the  Church ;"  nor  by 
the  ambition  of  a  few  leaders  of  some  new  movement  for  power, 
which  can  be  most  craftily  accomplished  by  a  new  rendering  of  the 
old  dogma ;  nor  by  the  calmer  and  more  natural  corruption  of  a  great 
corporation  settled  upon  its  lees,  conservative  of  all  its  past  peculiar- 
ities however  unsuited  to  the  genius  of  the  present,  and  nothing  if 

every  pore.  The  Presbyterian  Churches  still  retain  in  their  semi-hierarchal  government  the 
impress  of  that  grasping  for  power  on  the  part  of  the  few,  and  that  distrust  and  contempt  of 
"  the  people,"  which  characterized  the  old  paganism. 

1  "  Laymen,  when  our  polity  has  its  normal  influence  upon  them,  are  not  so  easily  pushed 
into  sidelong  measures.  They  must  perceive  some  broad  tangible  good  to  be  gained,  or  they 
will  not  rally  around  a  turbulent  dogmatist.  If  a  false  doctrine,  or  a  clannish  scheme  begin 
to  fascinate  the  community,  every  distinct  Church  is  a  new  obstacle,  and  in  the  Church  itself, 
every  distinct  member  is  a  new  impediment  to  the  proposal,  unless  the  proposal  have  some 
palpable  and  sterling  merit.  Hence,  it  is  notorious,  that  when  false  doctrine  has  inundated 
the  Church,  it  has  flowed  from  the  clergy  and  not  from  the  people,  and  when  the  people  have 
been  trusted  with  power  commensurate  with  their  spiritual  culture,  they  have  stimulated  their 
pastors  to  a  maintenance  of  the  simple  truth."  —  Prof.  Park.    Fitness  of  the  Church,  ^e.,  38. 


280  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

not  consistent.  The  Congregational  system  offers  little  field  for 
great  discoverers  of  "  new  light "  which  invariably  turns  out  to  be 
old  darkness.  They  may  publish  their  books,  and  ring  out  their  ral- 
lying cries  long  and  loud,  and  gather  their  little  "  schools  "  of  disci- 
ples, but  the  great  mass  of  the  lay  believers  will  still  go  "  to  the  law 
and  the  testimony  "  to  test  their  pretensions,  and  are  very  sure  in 
the  end  to  reach  the  prophet's  decision  —  "  if  they  speak  not  accord- 
ing to  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them."  New  Eng- 
land Congregationalism  has  been  supposed  by  many,  who  have  taken 
the  dictum  of  interested  opponents  of  her  system  for  truth,  without 
investigation,  to  have  been  the  hot-bed  of  heresies.  But  the  trutli 
is,  as  all  who  really  know  the  facts  must  concede,  that  there  is  no 
harder  soil  on  earth  in  which  to  germinate  successfully  the  seeds  of  a 
religious  error,  than  the  membership  of  her  Orthodox  Churches. 
It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  they  are  conservative  almost  to  a  fault. 
And  however  much  they  may  admire  the  intellectual  ability,  and  enjoy 
the  eloquence,  and  respect  the  life  of  the  proposers  of  new  theories 
of  the  Gospel,  they  are  apt  to  remain  essentially  unmoved  by  them.^ 
(2.)  Congregationalism  furnishes  a  much  less  favorable  shelter  for 
religious  error  than  any  other  system.  Grant  that,  by  some  method, 
some  unsound  view  of  truth  has  gained  a  lodgment  in  each  of  the 
main  systems  of  Church  government,  our  assertion  is  that  it  is  less 
safe  under  Congregationalism  than  anywhere  else.  It  is  always 
open  to  review  there.  Any  member  of  the  Church,  who  is  grieved 
by  it,  has  the  right  of  bringing  it  at  once  to  the  test  of  the  prayer- 
ful and  labored  investigation  of  his  entire  co-membership.  Nay,  if  it 
exists  in  any  other  Church  than  his  own,  he  has  the  right  of  indirectly 
procuring  the  same  result,  through  the  principle  of  the  communion 
of  churches.  So  that  such  a  heresy  is  at  once  exposed  to  attack 
from  the  widest  possible  range.  Moreover,  the  process  of  assault  is 
so  simple,  and  feasible,  that  the  man  whose  conscience  is  disturbed 
in  the  matter,  has  no  excuse  for  not  bringing  it  immediately  to  trial. 
There  is  no  certainty  of  vast  trouble,  and  uncertain  expense,  and  in- 
calculable delay,  discouraging  him,  in  the  outset,  from  any  such  duty. 

1  I  mention  in  this  connection,  without  design  of  opprobium  toward  an  honored  brother, 
whose  general  faith  I  respect  as  much  as  I  admire  his  pure  and  faithful  life,  the  fact,  that  while 
thousands  of  copies  of  the  Conflict  of  Ages  —  one  of  the  ablest  books  of  the  century  —  were 
bought,  and  read,  in  New  England  and  elsewhere,  there  are  not,  probably,  three  scores  of  con- 
verts to  its  hypothesis  in  all  the  Congregational  churches  of  the  land. 


WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.  281 

There  are  no  forms  of  trial  to  be  gone  through  with,  so  elaborate 
that  nothing  short  of  a  life  devoted  to  their  study  can  make  entirely 
safe  any  intermeddling  with  them.^  If  a  Church  member  becomes 
a  heretic,  the  others  deal  with  him  and  cast  him  out.  If  a  Pastor 
becomes  a  heretic,  the  Church  terminates  his  relation,  and  that  very 
fact  warns  other  churches  against  him.  Each  Church  being  self- 
complete,  there  is  very  little  danger  of  any  taint  —  if  there  be  such 

—  in  one,  spreading  from  one  to  another.  So  far  as  other  churches 
are  concerned,  it  affects  them  only  as  another  is  added  to  the  many 
bad  examples  that  already  exist  around ;  to  stand  for  warning  be- 
fore them.  Whereas,  in  an  affiliated  hierarchy,  so  many  steps  are 
to  be  taken,  and  so  many  trials  had  ;  there  is  so  much  inter-depend- 
ence and  so  many  chances  for  contagion  to  spread,  that  the  case 
becomes  as  much  more  difficult  to  manage  than  it  is  among  us,  as 
scarlatina  in  a  crowded  school  is  worse  than  in  an  isolated  dwelling. 
So  that  in  its  antagonist  forms  of  Church  government,  difficulties 
such  as  we  have  hinted  hedge  the  way,  and  often  render  the  securing 
of  a  really  just  result  the  exception  more  than  the  rule  —  after  the 
intervening  years  of  constitutional  del  ay. ^ 

(3.)  Congregationalism  has  actually  proved  itself  a  safer  barrier 
against  heresy  than  its  competing  systems.  We  have  referred  to 
the  fact  —  which  no  well-informed  person  will  be  likely  to  deny 

—  that  it  was  only  as  the  hierarchy  superseded  the  primitive  Con- 

1  "The  practice  of  law  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  become  so  much  a  science  and  pro- 
fession, that  long  ago  reports  of  cases  and  precedents  began  to  be  published  by  the  General 
Assembly,  which  have  now  grown  to  a  large  volume  of  cases,  precedents,  and  commentaries 
constantly  swelling  in  its  dimensions  with  every  new  edition,  under  the  title  of  the  Assembli/^s 
Digest.  It  is  manifest  that  none  but  a  lawyer  can  now  understand  the  law  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church."    Colton's  Thoughts  on  the  Religious  Sta'e  of  the  Country,  61. 

2  Bishop  Eastburn  tried,  in  vain,  for  long,  to  stem  the  tide  of  Puseyism  which  was  flowing 
into  Boston  through  the  "  Church  of  the  Advent,"  but  was  at  last  compelled  to  succumb,  and, 
after  years  of  refusal  to  visit  the  Church  and  perform  confirmation  there,  to  do  so,  as  if  in  ap- 
proval of  what  he  himself  had  characterized  as  a  "  pointed  and  offensive  resemblance  to  the 
usages  of  the  idolatrous  papal  communion,"  as  "superstitious  puerilities,"  and  irregularities 
degrading  to  the  character  of  the  church  and  perilous  to  the  souls  of  the  people."  [See 
CorresjwnrJence  between  the  Rt.  Rev.  the  Bishof/  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  Rectors  of  the  Parish 
of  the  Advent,  ^c,  1856,  pp.  123  ]  And  the  issue  of  the  Colenso  case,  in  England,  is  well 
known.  In  regard  to  the  burdensome  formalities  which  under  the  English  Church  it  is  need- 
ful to  go  through  in  order  to  settle  the  question  of  heresy,  the  London  Times,  of  21  Decem- 
ber, 1864,  said :  —  "  Considerations  so  abstruse  and  subtle,  even  when  divested  of  their  legal 
guise,  are  more  within  the  province  of  lawyers  than  clergymen.  Unless  they  were  all  taken 
into  account  by  the  Bishop  of  Cape  Town  and  his  two  Episcopal  assessors,  a  most  serious  re- 
sponsibility was  undertaken  without  adequate  information  ;  yet  to  suppose  that  they  were  taken 
into  account  would  be  absurd." 


282  CONGREGATIONALISM, 

gregationalism,  that  those  doctrinal  corruptions  came  on  which  re- 
sulted in  the  "  dark  ages."  ^  It  is  the  avowed  principle  of  the  hier- 
archal  churches  that  it  belongs  to  the  clergy,  and  to  the  clergy  alone, 
to  settle  "  questions  of  doctrine,  or  such  as  in  any  way  involve  deci- 
sions upon  doctrine."  ^  The  American  Episcopal  Church  has  been 
declared  by  Dr.  Pusey  to  have  "  abandoned  a  bulwark  of  the  faith," 
in  admitting  laymen  to  her  counsels.^  So  that  the  issue  is  directly 
joined  as  between  those  who  trust  everything  to  the  membership, 
under  Christ,  and  those  who  trust  nothing  to  them.  And  we  claim 
that  our  own  system  has  uniformly  favored  a  purer  doctrine  than 
that  of  our  opponents. 

The  Roman  Catholic  body  has  so  far  departed  from  the  "  feith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints,"  toward  actual  paganism  and  practical 
idolatry,  that  it  can  only  by  stretch  of  courtesy  be  called  a  Christian 
Church  at  all.  The  Church  of  England  was  never  more  than  half 
reformed,  and  to-day  undeniably  includes  within  its  pale  all  forms  of 
error,^  from  the  lowest  rationalism  of  the  Broad  Churchmen  to  the 

1  "  The  entire  perversion  of  the  original  view  of  the  Christian  Church  was  itself  the  origin  of 
the  whole  system  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  —  the  germ  from  which  sprang  the  popery 
of  the  dark  ages."  [Dr.  Neander.  —  Introduction  to  Coleman's  Apostolical  and  Primitire  Church, 
22.]     "  It  is  remarkable  that  the  lax  penitential  discipline  had  its  chief  support  from  the  end 

of  the  second  century,  in  the  Roman  Church Callistus,  whom  a  later  age  stamped  a 

saint,  because  it  knew  little  of  him,  admitted  higami  and  trigami  to  ordination,  maintained 

that  a  bishop  could  not  be  deposed,  even  though  he  had  committed  a  mortal  sin, in 

short,  he  considered  no  sin  too  great  to  be  loosed  by  the  power  of  the  keys  in  the  Church.    And 

this  continued  to  be  the  view  of  his  successors Here  we  perceive  also,  how  the  looser 

practice  in  regard  to  penance  was  connected  with  the  interest  of  the  hierarchy.  It  favored  the 
power  of  the  priesthood,  which  claimed  for  itself  the  right  of  absolution ;  it  promoted  the 
external  spread  of  the  Church,  though  at  the  expense  of  the  moral  integrity  of  her  member- 
ship, and  facilitated  both  her  subsequent  union  with  the  state  and  her  hopeless  confusion  with 
the  world."  — Schafif's  Hist.  Christ.  Church,  447. 

2  See  The  Councils  of  the  Church,  p.  17 

8  "  It  must  be  said  plainly,  that  the  precedent  set  in  the  United  States  is  radically  wrong, 
and  in  fact,  is  so  far,  the  adoption  of  a  principle  belonging  to  bodies  who  reject  the  Apostolic 
succession,  and  the  whole  principle  of  a  deposit  of  faith,"  &c.    Ibid.  25. 

*  "  There  is  no  church  in  the  world  that  has,  in  fact,  so  great  a  diversity  of  opinion  in  her 
own  bosom,  as  the  Church  of  England,  and  not  a  little  of  downright  infidelity."  [Colton's 
Religious  State  of  the  Country,  200]  " Lord  Chatham  said,  in  his  time,  that  the  English 
Church  had  Calvinistic  articles,  a  Papistical  service,  and  an  Arminian  clergy.  The  saying  has 
become  a  general  opinion,  but  the  designation  of  the  dogmatic  sentiments  of  the  clergy,  is  only 
now  in  so  far  correct,  that  the  great  majority  of  the  clergy  agree  with  the  Arminians  in  reject- 
ing the  favorite  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  age,  'justification  by  imputed  righteousness,' 
and  '  Calvinistic  Predestination.'  The  fact,  however,  that  the  Established  Church  has  not  so 
much  as  the  semblance  of  unity  of  doctrine  and  character,  is  well  known  to  every  educated 
Englishman,  and  appears  as  something  quite  natural,  and  as  a  matter  of  course."  DoUinger's 
The  Church  and  the  Churches,  169.  "  The  pulpit  is  as  little  trusted  for  sincerity,  as  that  ap- 
pointed resort  of  hired  advocacy  —  the  bar."     Westminster  Review,  liv.,  485. 


WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.  283 

straitest  Romanism  of  Dr.  Pusey,  and  John  Henry  Newman,  and 
Father  Ignatius.^  The  Lutheran  churches  on  the  Continent  have 
a  strong  government,  but  have  become  almost  entirely  corrupt  in 
doctrine  and  practice,^  more  especially  in  Sweden  and  Norway.  In 
Switzerland,  Calvin's  pulpit  is  occupied  by  Rationalists,^  while  in 
Geneva,  few  care  for  the  great  Reformer,  and  nobody  knows  where 
his  body  molders  ;  but  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau  lies  in  the  Pantheon, 
and  his  bronze  statue  on  the  Isle  of  Poplars  is  one  of  the  principal 
attractions  of  that  beautifiil  city. 

And  this  reminds  us  of  the  general  fact  that  Presbyterianism  has 
proved  itself  in  the  old  world  especially  powerless  as  a  conservator 
of  purity  of  doctrine.  In  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland,  the 
"  Moderates  "  —  many  of  whom  ranged  from  Arminianism  down  to 
bald  Deism  —  were  long  in  the  ascendant.^  Essentially  the  same 
has  been  true  of  a  large  part  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ireland.^ 
The  Presbyterian  Church  in  England  has  become,  and  remains,  almost 
wholly  Unitarian ;  ^  while  the  Congregational  churches  of  Scotland 


1  Nor  is  the  presence  of  doctrinal  error  the  only  rotten  symptom  in  the  Church  of  England. 
It  is  notorious,  that  many  of  her  clergy  are  men  giving  no  evidence  of  piety,  not  merely,  but 
sometimes  of  questionable  morality.  Says  a  faithful  witness,  "  it  is  neither  truth  nor  piety  that 
gives  clergymen  their  livings.  Numbers  of  them  preach  a  gospel  neither  more  pure  nor  more 
evangelical  than  was  done  by  Socrates  and  Plato,  and  other  heathen  moralists  ;  and  some  of 
the  most  deserving  of  their  brethren,  who  ought  to  know,  are  continually  bringing  against 
them  the  most  pointed  accusations." — Ballantyne's  Comparison,  Sfc,  171. 

2  In  Germany  the  strongest  infidels  have  been  in  the  Church,  and  accredited  teachers  of  its 
formulae.  While  so  totally  has  Christian  discipline  been  disregarded  there,  that  according  to 
the  declaration  of  a  devout  minister  of  the  Lutheran  Church  persons  known  to  be  of  abandoned 
character,  and  the  most  notorious  slaves  of  lust,  are  publicly  and  indiscriminately  received  to 
the  Lord's  Supper.  —  See  Liebetrut.     Tag  des  Herrn,  a.  831. 

8  "  Protestant  to  the  back-bone,  even  to  Unitarianism,  and  very  proud  of  its  Protestantism." 
[Rev.  E.  E.  Hale's  Ninety  Days^  worth  of  Europe,  162]  "  Confessions  of  faith  are  abolished, 
and  the  Church  grounds  its  belief  on  the  Bible,  and  allows  to  every  one  the  right  of  free 
inquiry;  among  the  clergy  prevails  the  most  absolute  confusion  with  respect  to  doctrine."  — 
Genf '8  "  Kirkliche  und  Ohristliche  Zustande  "  in  Der  Deutschen  Zeitsc/irift,  i.,  248,  253. 

4  "  The  tone  of  their  theology  was  moral,  mitigating  the  strictness  of  the  old  Confessions." 
[Smith's  Hagenbach,  ii.,  430.]  "  For  the  last  half  century,  the  leading  clergy  and  laity  have  de- 
parted from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ,  having  been  spoiled  through  philosophy  and  vain 
deceit.  The  General  Assembly  has  presented  a  considerable  majority  approving  sentiments  and 
practices  in  opposition  to  which  the  ancient  Covenanters  would  have  laid  down  their  lives. 
Ministers  selected  by  patrons  have  been  placed  over  many  of  the  churches  against  their  con- 
sent, driving  most  of  their  pious  members  into  the  churches  of  the  Seceders." — Marsh's  Ecdes. 
Hist.,  313. 

6  See  Alexander's  Hist.  Pres.  Church  in  Ireland,  pp.  301-342. 

6  "  During  the  life  and  popularity  of  Dr.  Priestly,  who  abhorred  a  middle  course,  the  Presby- 
terians generally  renounced  their  ancient  discipline.  From  Arianism  they  have  descended  to 
Socinianism,  and  now  choose  to  be  known  as  Unitarians."  [Marsh,  350.]  "  The  old  Presbyterian 


284  CONGKEGATIONALISM. 

and  England,^  have  been  models  of  unity  and  parity  in  their  Evan- 
gelical belief.^ 

Looking  at  our  own  country,  we  find  the  same  causes  producing 
the  same  results ;  though  not  always  in  a  manner  so  obvious,  and 
even  striking.  It  has  been  the  fashion  among  the  opponents  of  our 
system  to  denounce  it  as  responsible  for  the  "  great  Unitarian  apos- 
tacy "  in  New  England.^     But  the  father  of  Unitarianism  in  this 

community,  once  the  most  powerful  and  influential  among  non-Episcopal  connections,  has,  in 
the  course  of  the  last  century  fallen  completely  into  decay  in  England.  Th«  cause  of  this  is  to 
be  found  chiefly  in  the  change  of  doctrine.  The  most  distinguished  Theologians  of  the  party  — 
Bichard  Baxter  and  Daniel  W^illiams  —  had  demonstrated  so  clearly  and  convincingly  the  con- 
tradictions in  the  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  justification,  and  its  inevitable  moral  consequences, 
that  most  of  the  congregations  renounced  this  doctrine,  and  became,  according  to  the  custom- 
ary mode  of  expression,  Arminian."  [Dollinger's  The  Church  and  the  Churches,  178.]  "Scores 
of  Presbyterian  congregations  admitted  heretical  assistants  to  their  orthodox  pastors,  and 
heretical  successors  too      In  most  of  their  principal  congregations  it  became  the  order  of  the 

day Arianism  was  the  grave  of  the  Presbyterian  congregations."  —  Bogue  &  Bennett's 

History  of  the  Dissenters,  ii.,  303,  313. 

1  An  Aberdeen  Presbyterian  writing  to  the  Presbyterian  Banner,  bears  the  following  testi- 
mony to  the  relative  purity  and  soundness  of  Congregationalism  and  Presbyterianism  in  Scot- 
land,—  ^^  Scottish  Congregatiunalium ,  in  connection  with  the  resurrection  of  the  old  Gospel 
which  Knox  had  preached,  was  for  years  a  light  in  a  dark  land.  It  supplemented  what  was 
wanting  elsewhere.  More  than  this,  while  many  did  not  join  it,  and  were  Presbyterians  still, 
its  Sabbath  evening  services  were  largely  attended  by  them,  and  there  they  found  refreshment, 
consolation,  and  blessing  to  their  souls.  Many  of  the  parish  [Presbyterian]  ministers  were  then 
ungodly  men,  without  unction  or  earnestness,  and  Congregationalism,  setting  up  its  small 
meeting-places  in  the  different  parishes,  led  many  formalists  to  the  Saviour's  feet,  and  was  a 
living  witness  within  the  region  of  a  holy  and  unselfish  Christianity.  Even  now,  although 
there  are  not  more  than  one  hundred  Congregational  churches  in  Scotland,  and  except  two  at 
Edinburgh,  one  or  two  at  Ghuigow,  and  a  considerable  body  in  Dundee,  they  are  comparatively 
weak  as  to  numbers ;  yet  they  present  noble  specimens  of  healthy  piety,  and  of  zeal  in  every 
good  work.  The  name  of  Wardlaw  is  still  fragrant,  and  others  there  are  who,  having  sat  at  his 
feet  as  students,  perpetuate  his  spirit,  and  his  message,  and  his  influence.  I  have  been  provi- 
dentially brought  into  contact,  this  week,  with  Congregationalists,  both  ministers  and  people, 
and,  as  a  Presbyterian,  I  give  you  my  honest  impressions,  and  pay  to  them  such  a  tribute, 
which  truth  and  love  demand." 

2  "  It  is  doubtful  whether  a  single  strictly  Congregational  Church  passed  over  into  heresy." 
[MS.  Letter  from  Jo.shua  Wilson,  Esq.,  Tunbridge  Wells,  Eng.]  "  Instead  of  the  diversity  of  sen- 
timents which  prevailed  among  the  Presbyterians,  the  religious  principles  of  the  Nonconformists 
were  maintained  by  the  Independents,  in  all  their  purity :  it  may  be  questioned  whether  an 
Arian,  or  even  an  Arminian,  was  to  be  found  in  the  whole  body.  There  was  no  denomination 
in  England  which  could  boast  of  so  much  unanimity  as  to  doctrine." —  Bogue  &  Bennett,  ii  313. 

3  "  Congregationalism  is  constantly  charged  with  the  Unitarian  defection  in  Massachusetts. 
Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  and  even  the  advocates  of  that  singular  mixture  of  ecclesiastical 
ideas  which  in  Connecticut  is  called  '  Consociationism,'  all  cry  out  in  chorus  —  '  Look  at  the 
fruits  of  Congregationalism  in  Massachusetts !  '  This  is  like  charging  upon  Bowditch's  Navi- 
gator, the  wreck  of  a  ship  set  out  of  her  course  by  an  unknown  tideway  or  a  deep  ocean-current. 
The  current  opinion,  among  those  who  know  little  or  nothing  of  the  facts,  that  the  Congrega- 
tionalism of  Massachusetts  is  responsible  for  the  Unitarian  defection,  is  of  a  piece  with  the  idea 
which  prevails  through  the  benighted  South,  that  Democracy  is  responsible  for  a  slimy  brood 
of  infidelities  and  heresies  and  immoral  philosophies,  from  '  socialism  '  to  '  free  love,'  with  which 


WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  285 

country,  was  the  rector  of  the  first  Episcopalian  Church  that  was 
ever  founded  in  New  England,  who,  in  1785,  succeeded  in  trans- 
forming his  Church  into  the  first  Unitarian  Church  in  America;^ 
while  that  Church  which,  in  1803,  ordained  Dr.  Channing  —  the 
great  heresiarch  of  his  day  —  as  its  pastor,  was  the  first  Scotch-Irish 
Presh/terian  Church  ever  founded  in  the  State.^     It  is  true,  that  of 

its  tropical  imagination  has  peopled  our  Yankee  land.  It  is  well  to  remember  that  people  may 
be  neighbors  who  are  not  relations,  and  that  contiguity  is  not  necessarily  causation."  —  Rev. 
J.  P.  Gulliver.     Independent^  March,  1865. 

1  "  This  important  change  is  to  be  attributed  mainly  to  the  judicious  and  learned  expositions 
of  Mr.  Freeman,  who  preached  a  series  of  doctrinal  sermons  to  his  people,  and  by  the  aid  and 
influence  of  the  word  of  God,  moved  them  to  respond  to  his  sentiments.  The  first  Episcopal 
Church  in  New  England,  became  the  first  Unitarian  Church  in  America,  and  our  venerated 
senior  minister,  though  not  absolutely  the  first  who  held  or  even  avowed  Unitarian  opinions, 
s'iill  on  many  accounts  deserves  to  be  considered  as  the  father  of  Unitarian  Christianity  in  this 
country.''''  [Greenwood^s  History  of  King''s  Chapel,  in  Boston, -p.  1S9.]  There  appears  to  have 
been,  at  this  time,  a  decided  Unitarian  tendency  in  many  of  the  Episcopalian  churches  of  this 
country.  A  convention  for  three  New  England  States  met  in  Boston,  in  September,  1785,  which 
resolved  that  the  Athanasian  and  Nicene  creeds,  and  one  article  of  the  Apostle's  creed  ought  to 
be  omitted ;  that  several  amendments  should  be  made  in  the  liturgy,  and  that  the  Offices  of 
baptism,  matrimony,  visitation  of  the  sick,  and  burial  of  the  dead,  should  be  altered.  A  con- 
vention assembled  at  Philadelphia,  in  October,  1785,  resolved  to  reduce  the  39  articles  to  21 
The  feeling  then  prevalent  expressed  itself  in  a  pamphlet  published  the  following  year,  which 
said,  "There  arc  many  parts  of  the  Liturgy,  39  Articles,  &c.,  which  were  by  the  bigotry  of  the 
age,  conformed  to  Papistical  and  Calvinistical  errors,  and  other  doubtful  systems,  which  are 
not  well  understood.  They  have  occasioned  many  well  disposed  Christians  to  dissent  from  the 
Church  of  England  ;  and  they  are  esteemed  great  obstacles  to  its  increase." — [Remarks  on  the 
proceedings  of  the  Episcopal  Cunrentions,  <§*c.,  by  a  Layman.  Boston  :  J.Hall.  1785.]  But  all 
this  was  corrected,  as  the  regulating  influence  of  the  mother  Church  of  England  was  brought  to 
bear  upon  the  Colony,  and  it  became  understood  that  it  was  a  much  better  plan  to  ignore  all 
inconvenient  clauses  in  the  Articles,  or  the  Liturgy,  or  the  Offices,  than  to  change  them,  and  so, 
with  the  exception  of  King's  Chapel,  which  had  been  hasty  in  its  honesty,  the  Episcopalian 
body  here  relapsed  into  quietude  under  its  accredited  forms,  with  the  single  exception  of  the 
Athanasian  creed,  which  it  omitted  in  deference  especially  to  Connecticut,  where,  it  was  said, 
the  insisting  on  it  "  would  hazard  the  reception  "  of  the  prayer-book.  [Hook's  Church  Diction- 
ary, 39. J  This  reference  to  Connecticut,  finds  explanation  in  the  fact  mentioned  by  Dr.  McEwen 
[Contributions  to  the  Eccl.  Hist,  of  Connecticut,  274,]  that  "  that  class  of  the  population  which 
in  Massachusetts  became  Unitarians,  have  in  our  commonwealth  [Connecticut]  chosen  to  be 
Episcopalians."  And  Anderson  says  that  great  numbers  of  the  people  of  Connecticut  "  thank- 
fully repaired  "  to  the  Episcopal  Church  "  as  the  ark  which  could  alone  carry  them  in  safety 
over  the  raging  floods  "  of  the  great  revival  of  Whitfield's  time. — Hist.  Colonial  Church,  iii., 
399. 

2  The  Scotch-Irish  founded  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  "  Long  Lane,"  Boston,  soon  after  1727, 
under  Rev.  John  Moorhead.  Rev.  David  Annan  succeeded  him,  after  wtiom  were  Rev.  Jeremy 
Belknap,  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  John  S.  Popkin,  D.  D.,  whose  successor  Dr.  Channing  became,  in  1803. 
The  Church  now  worship,  under  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Gannett,  in  Arlington  street.  The  Rev. 
Alexander  Blaikie  organized  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  city,  in  1846.  which  he  assumed  to 
be  this  original  Church,  and  entitled  to  the  property  of  the  "  Federal  Street  Parish,"  and  sued 
for  the  same  before  the  Supreme  Court  in  1849.  6  March,  1855,  Chief  Justice  Shaw  decided 
adversely  to  the  claim.  Mr.  Blaikie,  with  characteristic  pertinacity,  appealed  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  whence,  in  1862,  he  was  dismissed  "  for  the  want  of  jurisdiction." 
—  See  Judge  Davis's  Memoir  of  the  Federal  Street  Church  and  Stciety,  33-36,  and  Boston  Record- 
er, 2  April,  1863. 


286  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

the  three  hundred  and  sixty-one  Congregational  churches  in  Massa- 
chusetts, in  1810,^  ninety-six  —  or  a  little  more  than  one  in  four  — 
passed  over  to  Unitarianism.  But  the  Socinian  tendency  came  to 
them  from  the  mother-country  of  "  strong  "  Church  government,  and 
they  had  first  exposed  themselves  to  its  contagion  by  departing  from 
fundamental  Congregationalism  in  imitation  of  the  "  strong  "  govern- 
ments, in  admitting  those  who  were  not  believers  to  their  commu- 
nion ;  while  their  system,  as  such,  showed  its  vitality  and  self-purga- 
tive power  by  very  soon  sloughing  off  these  new  converts  to  a  lax 
faith,  and  rendering  itself  pure  ; — which  is  more  than  Presbyterianism 
has  done  in  England,  Scotland,  or  Ireland  ;  ^  more  than  Episcopacy 
ever  did  or  can  do  anywhere.'  It  may,  indeed,  well  be  doubted 
whether  any  other  form  of  Church  government  in  Massachusetts,  at 
that  time,  would  have  saved  the  State  from  being  delivered  over  bound 
hand  and  foot  to  Socinianism.  It  was  the  fact  that  God's  faithful 
ones  in  the  local  churches  had  power  there,  and  were  not,  in  a  man- 
ner, compelled  to  follow  their  eminent  leaders,  which  stayed  the  de- 
fection.*   "  The  gracefulness  of  Buckminster,  the  amenity  of  Green- 

1  The  Presbyterian  Church  in  Peterborough,  N.  II.,  having  got  rid  of  two  ministers  —  the 
first  as  a  sceptic  and  profligate,  and  the  second  for  immorality  —  were  now  preparing  to  follow 
the  third  into  Unitarianism.  [Lawrence's  New  Hampshire  Churches^  240  ]  A  portion  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  York  City,  in  1754,  objected  to  Dr.  Bellamy's  becoming  their 
pastor,  because  he  did  not  "  preach  so  free  and  generous  a  Gospel"  as  they  had  been  used  to, 
and  as  was  agreeable  to  them.  —  Bellamy,  Memoir^  xvii. 

2  Of  the  two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  Unitarian  chapels  which  existed  in  England  in  the 
year  1851,  one  hundred  and  seventy  had  been  originally  Presbyterian,  —  Mann's  Census  of 
Religious  Worship,  pp   1-lxviii. 

8  "  The  Church  [of  England]  has  no  fixed  doctrine;  its  formulas  contradict  each  other  ;  and 
what  one  part  of  its  servants  teach  is  rejected  by  the  other  as  a  soul-destroying  error.'"  JDol- 
linger's  The  Church  and  the  Churches,  p.  72.]  Its  "  Articles  "  are  no  defence  against  any  kind 
of  teaching  which  its  rectors  may  be  pleased  to  use.  "  There  is  nothing,"  says  the  London 
Times,  "  to  prevent  any  one  from  going  into  the  market,  and  buying  a  living  for  any  silly, 
fanatical,  extravagant,  or  incapable  booby  of  a  son,  and  installing  him  forthwith  as  the  spiritual 
mediator  between  the  Almighty  and  one  or  two  thousand  of  his  creatures.''  [See  Weekly  Reg' 
ister,  11  May,  1861].  To  understand  the  utter  helplessness  of  the  American  Episcopal  Church 
to  the  work  of  any  self-purification  from  the  gravest  doctrinal  errors,  it  will  be  quite  sufficient 
to  read  the  facts  in  regard  to  the  "  Smith  and  Anthon  "  controversy,  in  New  York  city  in  1843 ; 
where  it  was  distinctly  avowed  that  the  issue  was  "between  the  Church  and  Romanism,"  and 
where  '>  Romanism"  triumphed.  —  See  The  True  Issue  for  the  True  Churchman,  S^c,  i^c.  New 
York,  1843. 

4  "  Unitarianism  has  not  flourished  so  vigorously  in  this  Puritan  Commonwealth  as  Deism 
has  flourished  under  a  more  concentrated  Church  government ;  not-  so  extensively  as  —  in  the 
opinion  of  wise  observers  —it  would  have  prevailed  under  any  other  than  our  free  polity  ;  for 
if  the  churches  of  Massachusetts  had  been  amalgamated  into  one  State  confederation,  it  is  sup- 
posed that  nearly  all  of  them  would  have  gone,  where  the  few  dominant  spirits  had  led  the 
way.  and  the  Congregationalism  of  that  venerable  commonwealth  would  probably  have  been  — 
what  the  Presbyterianism  of  England  now  is  —  penetrated  with  Socinianism."  —  Prof.  Parke's 
Fitness  of  the  Church,  S^c,  39. 


WHY   CONGREGA.TIONALISM   IS   BEST.  287 

wood,  the  sober  sense  of  Ware,  the  wit  of  Kirkland,  the  genius  of 
Channing,  the  strength  of  Theophilus  Parsons  —  himself  a  host  — 
the  fame  of  the  University,  the  princely  fortunes  of  the  metropolis, 
would  have  carried  the  churches  headlong,  unless  every  Church  had 
been  trained  to  stand  on  its  own  foothold,  and  feel  its  responsibility 
to  God  rather  than  to  the  dignitaries  of  the  State.  The  life  of  the 
churches  in  Massachusetts,  after  the  irruption  of  Unitarianism,  when 
contrasted  with  the  death-like  torpor  of  the  Prussian  churches  after 
the  irruption  of  Rationalism,  affords  an  indisputable  argument  for 
the  policy  which  trusts  the  conservation  of  the  truth  to  a  free  people. 
It  is  a  noteworthy  fact,  that  those  churches  of  New  England,  whose 
Congregationalism  was  the  most  unshackled,  remained  the  firmest 
against  the  Unitarian  onset.  While  ecclesiastics  who  had  a  centralized 
government,  were  oscillating  or  yielding,  the  Baptists,^  who  stretched 
Congregationalism  into  Independency,  stood  erect  in  the  faith."  ^ 

It  is,  moreover  true,  that  the  Congregational  way  has  proved 
itself  especially  efficient  in  dealing  with  individual  cases  of  defection. 
Its  churches  are  enabled  to  let  heresy  alone  —  which  is  a  great 
blessing.  If  a  pastor  becomes  tainted  in  doctrine,  he  is  either  sus- 
tained or  condemned,  as  a  matter  of  course,  by  the  majority  of  his 
Church.  If  the  former,  the  minority  protest ;  if  the  latter,  the  ma- 
jority proceed ;  and  the  question  comes  to  a  Council,  who  throw  the 
moral  weight  of  their  opinion  upon  the  side  of  truth.  If  the  majority 
of  the  Chiu-ch  sustain  the  heresiarch,  surrounding  churches  withdraw 
from  him  and  them,  as  by  instinct,  and  the  spread  of  contagion  is 
checked.  If  the  majority  of  his  Church  renounce  him,  he  is  thrown 
off,  and  is  no  longer  a  Congregational  minister  in  good  and  regular 
standing,  so  that,  in  that  way,  the  contagion  is  arrested.  Possibly  one 
or  two  more  councils  may  be  called ;  but  beyond  that  there  is  no  oppor- 
tunity for  "  persecution,"  and  the  generation  of  "  sympathy,"  and  the 
formation  of  a  party  to  follow  the  thing  for  years  on  its  travels 
through  the  upper  courts.^     There  can  be  little  doubt,  in  any  rea- 


1  "  In  general  our  churches  appear  to  stand  steadfast  in  the  doctrines  of  grace  ;  and  indeed, 
the  Baptist  churches  are  almost  left  alone  in  defending  them  against  Arminians  and  Universa- 
lists,  as  our  brethren  of  other  denominations,  who  are  sound,  appear  much  discouraged."— 
Letter  of  Pres.  Manning  to  Dr.  John  Rippon,  3  Aug.  1784.  Guild's  Life,  Times,  ^c,  of  Man- 
ning, p.  328. 

2  Prof.  Park's  Fitness  of  the  Church,  ^c,  39.  40. 

8  The  benefit  of  this  "  letting  alone  "  process  is  clearly  seen  in  the  recent  case  of  the  Rev.  L. 


288  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

sonable  mind,  that  the  Presbyterian  standards  honestly  do  justify 
the  claim  of  the  old  school  branch  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  that 
their  new  school  brethren  are  "  lax  "  and  "  heretical ; "  but  the  efforts 
of  the  constitutional  party  to  maintain  those  standards  and  to  try 
and  condemn  prominent  doctrinal  offenders  against  them,  and  so 
purify  their  Church,  have  nearly  always  signally  failed  ;  ^  and  in  the 


A.  Sawyer,  the  new  translator  of  the  Bible  ;  who  seems  to  have  gone  over  to  the  extreme  ranks 
of  Rationalism,  but  who,  not  being  enabled  to  make  any  fuss  about  it,  except  in  a  civil  form 
by  libel  suits  against  those  who  have  called  him  an  Infidel,  has  carried  nobody  with  him,  and 
relapsed  into  insignificance.  If  we  had  been  compelled  to  make  a  Colenso  case  of  it ;  the  end 
would  not  be  by  and  by. 

1  A  fair  illustration  of  the  spirit,  wearisomeness,  and  inefifectiveness  of  the  Presbyterian  way 
of  dealing  with  heresy  may  be  found  in  its  process  in  the  case  of  Rev.  Albert  Barnes,  for  hold- 
ing and  teaching  "  New  School'-  errors.  In  1880,  Mr.  Barnes  was  called  from  Morristown  to 
Philadelphia,  by  vote  of  54  to  1  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  that  City.  The  Presbytery 
of  Philadelphia,  after  four  days  of  discussion  —  by  vote  of  21  to  2  —  gave  the  Church  leave  to 
present  the  call.  Mr.  Barnes,  on  22  June,  after  protracted  debate,  was  received  to  the  Presby- 
tery, by  vote  of  30  to  16.  Charges  were  then  presented  there  against  him  with  a  view  to  prevent 
his  installation  ;  which  the  Presbytery  decided  out  of  order,  32  to  17.  The  minority  appealed 
to  Synod,  which  sustained  the  complaint,  30  to  8,  and  enjoined  the  Presbytery  to  hear  and  de- 
cide the  oomplaiat.  Presbytery  met  30  November,  and  adjourned  to  hear  objections.  Great 
confusion  followed,  and  the  whole  matter  was  appealed  to  the  Assembly.  That  body  appears  to 
have  been  slightly  "packed"  —  at  any  rate  Dr.  Green  so  complained  —  and  it  recognized  the 
"  conscientious  zeal "  of  Mr.  Barnes's  opponents,  but  recommended  a  division  of  the  Presbytery 
"  in  such  a  way  as  to  promote  the  peace  of  its  ministers  and  churches,"  i.  e.,  to  get  round  the 
difficulty  by  throwing  Mr.  Barnes  and  his  friends  into  one  Presbytery,  and  his  opponents  into 
another.  The  Synod,  however,  refused  to  cooperate  in  this  neat  arrangement,  and  the  Presby- 
tery remained  undivided.  Whereupon  Mr.  Barnes's  friends  complained  to  the  Assembly  of  1832, 
which  "  passed  over  the  contumacy  of  the  Synod  as  lightly  as  possible,"  but  ordered  the  divi- 
sion. The  Synod  checkmated  the  Assembly,  however,  by  dividing,  but  not  in  the  way  pro- 
posed—  which  made  a  bad  matter  worse.  The  next  Assembly  (1833)  heard  from  all  parties  by 
complaint  and  appeal.  It  referred  the  whole  matter  to  a  Committee  who,  after  most  patient 
incubation,  recommended  a  withdrawal  of  the  complaints,  and  a  general  smoothing  over  of  the 
whole  business,  for  which  "  amicable  adjustment  "  God  was  publicly  thanked.  The  inveterate 
Synod,  however,  proceeded  to  "  re-arrange  "  the  Presbyteries  so  as  still  to  harass  Mr.  Barnes. 
Of  course  appeal  was  made  to  the  Assembly  of  1834,  which  declared  the  action  of  the  Synod 
void,  but  "  as  a  peace  measure  "  did  not  disturb  its  result ;  a  course  against  which  38  members 
of  Assembly  protested.  The  Assembly  further  made  a  new  Synod,  in  which  the  troubled  Pres- 
bytery could  be  at  peace.  The  next  Assembly  —  packed  again,  the  other  way  —  (1835)  dissolved 
the  new  Synod,  and  carried  Mr.  Barnes  back  to  the  jurisdiction  of  his  own  enemies  —  he,  mean- 
while having  been  tried  before  his  own  Presbytery  and  acquitted.  Dr.  Junkin  appealed  from 
this  decision  to  the  Synod  (now  once  more  all  right  for  him  —  by  the  late  reconstructive  act). 
But  the  past  records  of  the  Presbytery,  covering  the  date  of  this  trial,  were  subject  only  to  the 
revision  of  the  Synod  then  existing,  but  now  dissolved,  and  not  to  the  Synod  now  having  juris- 
diction ;  and  the  Presbytery  refused  to  furnish  them  to  the  Synod.  The  Synod  was  not  to  be 
so  blufied  off,  but  censured  the  Presbytery,  and  attempted  to  try  Dr.  Junkin's  appeal ;  but  Mr. 
Barnes  refused  to  appear.  The  Synod  suspended  him  from  the  ministry,  on  the  ground  of  hold- 
ing fundamental  errors,  by  a  vote  of  116  to  31,  and  proceeded  to  extirpate  the  offensive  Presby- 
tery by  requiring  its  members  to  seek  admission  to  other  Presbyteries  in  six  months,  or  be 
declared  ipso  facto  cut  off  from  the  Presbyterian  communion.  Whereupon  Mr.  Barnes  demitted 
his  ministry  and  appealed  to  the  next  Assembly,  and  the  Presbytery  appealed  also.    That  As- 


WHY    CONGEEGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  289 

efforts  now  making  to  procure  a  reunion  of  the  long  separated  portions 
of  that  Church,  the  permanent  dilution  of  the  high  orthodoxy  of 
those  standards  is  imminently  threatened,  while  the  machinery  by 
which  heresy  is  sought  to  be  purged  excites  the  criticism  of  many  of 
the  best  friends  of  the  system  in  which  it  has  its  place.^ 

Section  9.  Congregationalism  is  better  than  any  other  form  of 
Church  polity,  because  it  has  a  kindlier  bearing  than  any  other ^  to- 
ward a  republican  form  of  civil  government. 

We  believe  such  a  form  of  government  is  the  best ;  and,  with  the 
gradual  advance  of  general  intelligence,  will  be  seen  to  be  the  best, 
for  all  men.  But  whether  this  be  so  or  not,  it  is  our  form  of  Gov- 
ernment, and  our  national  prosperity  and  happiness  are  so  bound  up 

sembly  (1836)  —  accused  of  being  packed  once  more,  on  the  "  new  side,"— spent  a  week  on  the 
case,  and  by  134  to  96,  sustained  Mr.  Barnes's  appeal,  and  by  145  to  78,  restored  him  to  the 
ministry.  Further  action  followed,  including  a  protest  signed  by  101  members  ;  but  Mr.  Barnes 
resumed  his  ministry,  and  has  gone  on  to  the  present  time,  preaching  and  printing  things  not 
according  to  the  strict  standard  of  the  Presbyterian  faith  ;  denying  our  responsibility  for  Ad- 
am's sin,  and  our  inability  to  obey  God,  and  teaching,  generally,  "  New  School "  Tiews.  So  that, 
after  six  years  of  turmoil  in  the  attempt  to  cast  him  out,  the  Church  by  its  courts  only  suc- 
ceeded in  fastening  him,  and  his  (by  its  creed)  erroneous  views,  the  more  firmly  upon  itself,  and 
in  exciting  toward  him  and  them  more  widely  the  notice  and  sympathy  of  the  Christian  world. 
[See  Gillett's  Hist.  Presbyter ianism,  ii :  460-480;  Stansbury's  Report  of  the  Trial  of  Rev.  ± 
Barnes.  New  York  :  1836.  12mo.  pp.  416  ;  Barnes's  Defence,  and  other  Documents.  New  York: 
1838.  12mo.  pp.  266  ;  The  facts  in  the  case  of  the  Rev.  A.  Barnes,  ^c.  Philadelphia:  1836.  pp. 
20,  &c.,  &c.  Assemily^s  Digest,  Ed.  1858,  pp.  661-705  ;  Address  of  First  Pres.  Church  in  Phil- 
adelphia to  the  Presbyterian  Churches  of  the  United  Slates,  pp.  11.]  Similar  facts  occurred  ia 
the  case  of  Dr.  Duflfield  and  Dr.  Beecher.  In  regard  to  ''  packing  "  Church  Courts,  some  queer 
developments  might  be  made.  Dr.  Beecher  states  that  on  his  trial,  "  the  Old  School  had  raked 
and  scraped  all  the  old  dead  churches  where  they  could  get  an  Elder,  and  thought  they  might 
carry  the  day  ;  it  looked  squally."  [Autobiography,  ii :  857.]  —  See  for  further  facts  on  this  gen- 
eral subject,  Beecher^s  IForks,  vol.  iii :  82-413  ;  Trial  of  Lyman  Beecher  on  the  charge  of  Her- 
esy. New  York  :  1835.  4to.  pp.  83  ;  Trial  of  Rev.  Alex.  Bullions.  New  York:  1831.  8vo.  pp.  45  ; 
Official  documents  of  Presbytery  of  Albany  in  Trials  of  John  Chester,  Mack  Tucker,  and  Hooper 
Gumming.  Schenectady:  1818.  8vo.  pp.  255;  Narrative  of  Proceedings  of  the  Judicatories  rela- 
tive to  Rev.  D.  Graham.  Pittsburgh  :  1811.  Svo.  pp.  200  ;  Trial  ofN.  S.  S.  Beman,  before  the 
Troy  Presbytery.  Troy  :  1827.  Svo.  pp.  47  ;  Tlie  several  Trials  of  Rev.  D.  Barclay  before  the 
Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  ^c.    Elizabethtown  :  1814.  12mo.  pp.  405. 

1  "  Upon  any  fair  calculation  of  probabilities,  how  likely  is  it  that  a  promiscuous  assembly 
[General  Assembly]  at  Indianapolis  will  decide  a  question  aright  for  the  whole  Church  ?  I  have 
long  looked  in  vain  for  any  Scripture  or  rational  foundation  for  supreme  '  courts  '  having  half 
a  continent  for  their  scope."  [Dr.  J.  W.  Alexander's  Forty  Fears''  Familiar  Letters,  ii :  288.] 
The  same  excellent  man  was  at  one  time  so  pressed  with  his  conviction  of  the  evils  of  the  great 
Church  Courts  that  he  said,  "  I  see  but  one  plan  —  Reduce  the  Cliurch  to  iti  constituent  Pres- 
byteries. These  are  all  that  are  essential  to  the  notion  of  a  Presbyterian  Church."  —  [Ibid,  i : 
251.  See,  in  this  connection,  The  Constitution  of  Courts  of  Appeal  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
by  a  Pastor.    8vo.  pp.  16.] 

19 


290  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

with  it,  as  to  make  it  of  no  small  consequence  that  the  prevalent  re- 
ligious faith  should  work  kindly  with  it,  and  promote  it. 

Congregationalism  was,  historically,  the  mother  of  our  civU  liber- 
ties. It  was  so  first  at  Plymouth,  and  in  the  Massachusetts  Colony.^ 
It  Was  so,  later,  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution.^    And  it  would  seem 


•  1  Bancroft  says,  speaking  of  the  compact  executed  11  November,  1620,  "  This  instrument  was 
signed  by  the  whole  body  of  men,  forty-one  in  number,  who,  with  their  families,  constituted 
the  one  hundred  and  one,  the  whole  colony,  '  the  proper  democracy,'  that  arrived  in  New  Eng- 
land. This  was  the  birth  of  popular  constitutional  liberty In  the  cabin  of  the  May- 
flower humanity  renewed  its  rights,  and  instituted  government  on  the  basis  of  '  equal  laws  '  for 
'the  general  govemmeut.^^^  — [History  United  States,  i:  310.]  So  he  adds,  " For  more  than 
eighteen  years,  '  the  whole  body  of  the  male  inhabitants  '  constituted  the  legislature  ;  the  State 
was  governed  like  our  towns,"  —  he  might  have  added,  '  like  the  churches  whose  principles,  ex- 
pounded by  John  Robinson,  had  led  to  the  adoption  of  this  method  of  civil  government '  —  "as 
a  strict  democracy."  —  History  United  States,  i :  322. 

The  historical  truth  on  this  subject  has  been  very  happily  stated  by  a  late  able  writer,  who 
says,  "  There  is  a  connection  between  the  Church  Polity  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  and  the  civil 
polity  which  they  adopted,  and  also  between  their  civil  polity  and  that  which  the  nation  subse- 
quently accepted,  which  has  not  been  sufficiently  traced  and  pondered.  The  purely  democratic 
form  of  Government  in  the  Church  at  Leyden,  already  entrenched  in  the  warm  affections  of  the 
Pilgrims,  led  to  the  adoption  of  a  corresponding  form  of  civil  government  on  board  the  May- 
flower for  the  Colony  at  Plymouth.  It  has  been  said,  and  it  is  true,  that  it  was  a  Congrega- 
tional Church  meeting  that  first  suggested  the  idea  of  a  New  England  town-meeting  ;  and  a 
New  England  town-meeting  embodies  all  the  germinal  principles  of  our  State  and  national  gov- 
ernment." —  [U'ellman's  Church  Polity  of  the  Pilgrims,  pp.  68,  69.]  It  was  the  opinion  of  Mr. 
Pitt,  that  if  the  Church  of  England  had  been  efficiently  established  in  the  North  American  Col- 
onies, they  would  never  have  refused  allegiance  to  the  British  crown.  —  Park's  Address  before 
American  Cong.  Union,  Jan.  1854,  p.  13. 

One  of  the  bitterest  of  all  the  bitter  enemies  of  the  Pilgrims  has  been  compelled  to  concede, 
"  our  country,  reaching  from  sea  to  sea,  received  its  first  impulse  in  the  homely  meeting-houses 
of  Puritanism.  Each  little  band  of  Pilgrims  under  its  chosen  shepherd,  was  a  free  and  inde- 
pendent State.  There  was  assembled  the  future  caucus-loving  nation.  There  preached  the 
future  patriot,  and  there  listened  the  war-worn  army  of  liberty.  In  a  century,  behold  the  meet- 
ing-house has  swelled  into  the  capitol,  and  the  Church  members  have  become  citizens  of  a  stu- 
pendous empire." —  [Oliver's  Puritan  Commonwealth,  493.]  So  De  Tocqueville  says  our  fathers 
"  brought  with  them  to  the  New  World  a  form  of  Christianity,  which  I  cannot  better  describe 
than  by  styling  it  a  democratic  and  republican  religion.  This  contributed  powerfully  to  the 
establishment  of  a  republic  and  a  democracy  in  public  affairs." —  [Democracy  in  America  (Bow- 
en's  Ed.)  i :  384.]  And  John  Adams  always  named  the  Congregational  churches  of  New  Eng- 
and  as  chief  among  the  causes  of  their  civil  progress.— [  Works,  iii :  400  ;  v  :  495.]  David  Hale 
said,  "  if  Congregationalism  does  not  unavoidably  lead  to  the  establishment  of  a  democracy, 
it  certainly  favors  that  form  of  government."  —  Life  and  Writings,  276. 

2  "  The  late  Dr.  Fishback,  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  a  few  years  since,  made  the  following  statement, 
which  he  received  from  the  late  Kev.  Andrew  Tribble,  who  died  at  the  age  of  about  93  years. 
Mr.  Tribble  was  pastor  of  a  small  Baptist  Church,  near  Mr.  Jefferson's  residence,  in  the  State 
of  Virginia,  eight  or  ten  years  before  the  American  Revolution.  Mr.  Jefferson  attended  the 
meetings  of  the  Church  for  several  months,  in  succession,  and  after  one  of  them,  asked  the 
worthy  pastor  to  go  home  and  dine  with  him,  with  which  request  he  complied. 

Mr.  Tribble  asked  Mr.  Jefferson  how  he  was  pleased  with  their  Church  government  ?  Mr 
Jefferson  replied,  that  its  propriety  had  struck  him  with  great  force,  and  had  greatly  interested 
him  ;  adding  that  he  considered  it  the  only  form  of  pure  democracy  which  then  existed  in  the 


WHY    CONGREGATIONALISM   IS    BEST.  291 

a  natural  inference  that  the  same  polity  which  gave  us  a  Republic 
would  be  most  favorable,  in  all  its  workings,  to  the  permanent  wel- 
fare of  the  State. 

And  if  we  look  into  the  structure  of  the  system,  we  shall  see  that 
being  itself  a  democracy,  training  all  its  members  to  individual  re- 
sponsibility and  labor  —  under  the  highest  and  purest  pressure  of 
motive — its  natural  tendencies  and  influences  will  be  as  much  better 
for  a  Republic  than  those  of  its  antagonist  systems,  as  the  training  of 
a  merchant-man  is  kindlier  than  that  of  a  cotton-mill  to  fit  sailors  for 
a  man-of-war. 

It  has,  indeed,  been  urged  that  the  Presbyterian  system  is  more 
nearly  allied  to  the  American  civil  government  than  our  own;  it 
being  claimed  that  in  its  graded  courts  of  Sessions,  Presbyteries, 
Synods,  and  General  Assembly,  it  resembles  our  civil  ranks  of  towns, 
counties.  States,  and  the  Federal  Union.^  It  is  well  nigh  incredible, 
however,  how  such  a  remark  can  be  honestly  made,  by  any  person  in 
the  remotest  degree  in  possession  of  the  facts  in  the  case.  The  fun- 
damental principle  of  our  Republicanism  is,  that  every  man  is  equal 
in  the  eye  of  the  law,  and  that  every  citizen  shall  contribute  his 
share  of  sagacity,  influence,  power,  and  force,  to  the  common  task  of 
governing  the  nation.  So  long  as  it  was  possible,  the  republic  met 
en  masse  ;^  and  then,  as  a  concession  to  necessity,  a  local  community 
deputed  some  one  of  their  number  to  go  and  cast  their  votes  and 
utter  their  voice,  coming  back  continually  —  through  fresh  election  — 
to  receive  anew  their  deputized  will.  As  the  States  grew  to  a  nation, 
this  system  of  deputed  power  and  responsibility  gradually  expanded 

world,  and  had  concluded  that  it  would  be  the  best  plan  of  gorernment  for  the  American  Colo- 
nies.'''' —  Belcher's  Religious  Denominations  in  the  United  States,  184. 

So  John  Wise's  famous  Vindication  of  the  Gorernment  of  the  Churches  of  New  England,  was 
twice  re-printed  a  short  time  before  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  its  list  of  subscribers  shows 
that  it  was  called  for  by  a  large  number  of  men  then  prominent  in  civil  life.  This  contains 
[pp.  22-43,  Ed.  of  1772,]  a  thorough  discussion  of  forms  of  government,  and  an  earnest  plea 
for  a  democracy  in  the  State,  in  connection  with  its  consideration  of  democracy  in  the  Church. 

"  I  regard  the  Revolution  as  the  legitimate  fruit  of  Congregationalism The  principle 

of  the  independence  of  churches  or  congregations is,  in  fact,  the  republican  principle." 

—  Dr  Lamson's  Congregationalism,  pp.  16, 17. 

1  "  The  Presbyterian  Church  possesses  more  analogies  with  our  excellent  confederated  Re- 
public than  can  be  found  elsewhere,  and  moves  on  with  our  political  government  pari  passu  ; 
two  free  federative  republics,  one  spiritual,  the  other  temporal ;  neither  infringing  on  the 
rights,  nor  curtailing  the  privileges  of  the  other."  —  The  Presbyterian's  Handbook  of  the 
Church,  p.  1'7. 

2  Bancroft's  History  United  States,  i :  322. 


292  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

and  framed  and  balanced  itself  into  our  present  town,  State,  and  Fede- 
ral system.  But  it  never  has  been  severed  from  its  original  stock,  and 
to-day  every  member  of  every  State  Legislature  and  every  Senator 
in  Congress,  gets  the  sap  which  keeps  him  in  oflficial  life  from  this 
old  root  of  free,  and  frequently  renewed,  delegation  from  the  votes 
of  the  masses  of  individual  citizens.  This  is  in  exact  accord  of  prin- 
ciple with  the  working  of  Congregationalism,  which  indeed  deputes 
no  legislatures  nor  senates,  because  all  its  republics  are  local,  and 
can  meet  and  do  all  their  work  at  first  hand  ;  and  so  it  is  not  com- 
pelled to  that  concession  to  necessity  which  has  been  referred  to.  Its 
working,  therefore,  is  identical  with  that  of  our  government  in  its 
initial,  and  purest  form,  being  even  more  republican  than  it  is  possi- 
ble for  the  huge  Republic  to  be. 

The  system  of  Presbyterianism,  on  the  contrary,  is  in  essence  a 
purely  aristocratic  system.  When  one  of  its  churches  is  formed,  its 
membership  do  indeed,  elect  their  Elders  by  ballot ;  but  subsequently 
whenever  the  office  —  which  is  of  life  tenure  —  becomes  in  any  one 
case  vacant,  the  Elders  still  in  office  nominate  the  new  incumbent,  or 
he  is  nominated  by  a  committee,  appointed  half  by  the  Church,  half 
by  the  Session,  and  the  Church  confirm.^  Years  may  thus  pass  dur- 
ing which  the  membership  of  the  Church  are  never  appealed  to  for 
their  judgment  on  any  question  whatsoever.  They  have  no  voice  in 
the  admission  of  new  members  to  their  own  body.  They  have  no 
voice  in  the  discipline  of  members  of  their  own  body.  They  have  no 
voice  in  regard  to  any  Church  concerns.  All  is  done  for  them  by 
the  Session,  which  carries  its  judgments  up  to  the  Presbytery,  Synod, 
and  Assembly. 

To  say  that  this  is  like  our  republicanism  is  as  much  as  to  say  that 
it  would  be  no  change  in  our  civil  system,  if,  instead  of  frequent 
town-meetings,  in  which  every  voter  expresses  his  preference  for  his 
representatives  in  the  Legislature,  and  in  Congress ;  for  Governor 
and  President,  &c. ;  and  —  directly  or  remotely  —  in  regard  to  all 
matters  of  town,  county,  State,  and  National  concerns  (e.  g.,  like 
the  Slavery  amendment  to  the  National  Constitution,)  &c. ;  the 
"  Selectmen  "  of  our  towns,  and  the  Mayors  and  Aldermen  of  our 
cities  should  —  once  chosen  —  hold  for  life,  and  take  into  their  own 
hands  the  election  of  all  superior  officials,  and  run  the  nation ;  the 

1  Handbook  of  the  Church,  34, 118. 


WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.  293 

people  merely  doing  the  drudgery  and  paying  the  bills !  Possibly 
some  man  may  be  so  astute  as  to  suppose  that  a  proposition  to  make 
such  a  little  change  as  this,  would  meet  with  no  opposition  in  this 
land  as  a  radically  anti-republican  measure ;  if  so,  let  him  with  all 
his  might  assert  the  "  more  analogies  "  which  Presbyterianism  has 
than  Congregationalism,  to  "  our  excellent  confederated  Republic!"^ 
As  to  the  hierarchal  forms  of  Church  government,  they  can,  of 
course,  make  no  pretense  to  any  sympathy,  as  such,  with  our  civic 
system.  They  —  as  such  —  would  prefer  a  regulated  monarchy  ; 
and  should  the  question  ever  be  left  to  them  for  settlement,  they 
would  doubtless  make  such  preference  manifest. 

Section  10.  Finally,  we  urge  that  Congregationalism  has  preemi- 
nence over  other  Church  polities,  in  the  fact  that  its  obvious  advan- 
tages are  organic  and  peculiar  to  itself,  while  what  may  seem  to  he  its 
disadvantages,  in  contrast  with  opposing  systems,  are  merely  incidental 
to  the  imperfections  with  which  it  has  been  worked,  and  will  he  re- 
moved hy  a  more  faithful  application  of  its  principles. 

We  have  claimed,  as  its  inherent  advantages  over  other  systems, 
its  superior  practicability,  simplicity,  and  spirituality ;  its  remarkable 
development  of  general  intelligence,  and  the  sense  of  individual  re- 
sponsibility ;  its  readier  conservation  of  a  just  and  faithftd  disci- 
pline ;  its  influence  in  making  its  ministry  studious,  devout,  independ- 
ent, useful,  permanent ;  its  easier  adaptation  to  the  works  of  pious 
benevolence ;  its  safeguards  against  heresy ;  and  its  peculiar  fitness 
to  American  society,  in  its  kindlier  bearing  toward  our  form  of  civil 
government.  All  these  advantages  are  structural,  and  not  acci- 
dental ;  growing  naturally  out  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  system,  and 
therefore  to  be  found,  except  as  exotic,  in  none  of  its  opposites. 

On  the  other  hand,  those  features  in  which  other  systems  some- 
times seem  to  excel  us,  put  us  at  a  disadvantage,  in  the  comparison, 
only  because  of  our  own  unfaithfulness  to  the  capabilities  of  our  sys- 
tem. Thus,  it  is  an  apparent  advantage,  which  our  Methodist  breth- 
ren sometimes  have  over  us,  that  —  by  means  of  their  compact  and 
powerful  organization,  with  its  central  treasury  —  they  can  send  a 


1  I  have  referred  to  Jefferson's  estimate  of  Congregationalism,  and  to  his  conviction  of  its 
salubrity  for  a  Republic.  It  is  not  unfair,  in  this  connection,  to  add  a  word  of  his  judgment 
of  Presbyterianism,  where,  writing  to  Dr.  Cooper,  14  Aug.  1820,  he  refers  to  "  the  ambitious 
sect  of  Presbyterians,  indeed  the  Loyalists  of  our  country." — Wurks^  vii  :  70. 


294  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

preacher  to  a  place  that  cannot  sustain  him,  and  keep  him  there  until 
he  can  develop  strength  enough  to  build  up  a  permanent  Church  upon 
the  spot.  But  when  the  sisterhood  of  Congregational  churches  be- 
comes fully  awake  to  its  missionary  responsibilities,  and  ready  to  per- 
form all  its  Church  Extension  duties,  its  hand  will  be  stretched  out 
toward  all  such  remote  places ;  and  churches  will  be  established 
there,  more  in  sympathy  with  the  genius  loci  than  the  despotic  Wes- 
leyan  system  will  permit.  Nothing  needs  to  be  added  to  our  system, 
nor  anything  taken  from  it,  to  give  it  this  new  efficiency ;  we  only 
need  to  live  better  up  to  its  fraternal  capabilities.  So,  if  we  mistake 
not,  it  will  be  found  to  be,  in  every  other  particular  in  which  any 
other  system  may  have  us  at  a  temporary  disadvantage.  The  supe- 
rior *  order '  of  the  stately  hierarchies,  so  far  as  it  really  is  any  better 
than  our  own,  is  only  supplemental,  and  not  antagonist  to  it,  and  will 
be  superinduced  upon  ours,  as  we  grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowl- 
edge and  practice  of  Godliness. 

It  is  curious,  indeed,  to  see  how  the  systems  that  oppose  us  are 
compelled,  when  in  stress  of  difficulty,  to  forsake  their  own  first  princi- 
ples and  appeal  to  ours.  Thus,  it  is  a  first  principle  with  us,  that  the 
last  appeal  is  to  the  people.  It  is  a  first  principle  in  the  English 
Church,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  last  appeal  is  to  "  the  Church," 
meaning  a  hierarchal  organism,  headed  by  the  Queen,  and  officered 
by  Archbishops,  Bishops,  &c.  But,  let  some  Churchman  be  censured 
and  degraded  — as  he  thinks,  unjustly  —  by  the  proper  tribunal,  and 
you  will  at  once  see  him  appealing  to  the  people,  through  the  press, 
and  pleading  his  cause  with  them,  in  the  hope  of  so  stirring  up  a 
popular  commotion,  as  to  convince  his  judges  that  their  own  safety 
requires  the  reversal  of  his  sentence.  And,  if  he  succeed  well  in  his 
effort,  you  will  see  his  judges  pleading  their  cause  before  the  same 
people  in  defence  of  what  they  have  done,  both  parties  thus  commit- 
ting a  solecism  to  their  first  principles,  coming  over  to  our  position, 
practically  confessing  that  the  ultimate  power  and  right  of  judging, 
after  all,  are  with  the  people  ;  and  seeking  to  do  indirectly  by  pub- 
lic sentiment,  what  we  do  directly  by  vote.  So,  in  the  great  Presby- 
terian division,  when  the  exscinding  acts  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  1837, *cut  off",  at  one  blow,  "nearly  one-fifth  of  the  entire  mem- 
bership of  the  Church ; "  ^  declaring  —  without  trial,  or  even  citation 


1  Gillett's  History  Presbyterian  Church,  p.  517. 


WHY   CONGREGATIONALISM   IS   BEST.  295 

—  by  snap-judgment,  a  number  of  Synods  and  Presbyteries  which 
had  made  themselves  obnoxious,  for  various  causes,  to  the  Old 
School  majority  of  that  Assembly,  to  be  "  out  of  the  Ecclesiastical 
connection  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States,  and  no 
longer  in  form  or  fact,  an  integral  portion  of  said  Church ; "  ^  that 
Church  was  compelled  to  desert  its  own  principles  and  appeal  to 
ours  ;  to  go  before  the  tribunal  of  its  own  private  membership  for  its 
last  appeal,  and  as  the  result  of  that  appeal,  great  efforts  are  now 
making,  year  by  year,  to  undo  all  that  was  then  done,  and  relieve 
the  good  sense  of  the  world  of  the  absurdity  of  the  one  indivisi- 
ble Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States,  showing  itself  in 
the  shape  of  "two  denominations^  each  claiming  the  same  title, 
adopting  the  same  standards,  and,  to  a  considerable  extent,  occupying 
the  same  field,  and  represented  by  its  General  Assembly."  ^ 

The  Old  School  Assembly,  which  insists  that  the  "  standards  "  shall 
be  especially  interpreted  as  teaching  the  "  innate,  hereditary,  sinful 
corruption  of  nature ;  the  sinner's  inability  to  repent  and  believe 
without  the  supernatural  aid  of  the  spirit,  and  the  sovereignty  of 
God  in  election,"^  is  dependent  upon  the  faith  of  its  constituent  Church 
members  in  the  strict  construction  of  those  doctrines ;  and  in  that 
moment  when  the  masses  of  those  Church  members  favor  the  milder 
interpretations  of  the  "  New  School,"  the  Old  School  ceases  to  be,  as 
inevitably,  as  if,  like  Congregationalists,  they  assumed  that  the  power 
is  in  the  hands  of  Christ's  people,  under  him. 

In  the  matter  of  discipline,  as  well,  the  hierarchal  sects  are,  in  the 
last  result,  driven  to  stand  on  essentially  Congregational  ground. 
If  a  Church  functionary,  or  Church  Court,  deposes  or  disciplines  a 
man,  unjustly  —  in  the  judgment  of  the  masses  of  its  communion  — 
the  pressure  of  public  sentiment  will  be  almost  certain  soon  to  com- 
pel a  reversal  of  the  act. 

We  shall  doubtless  be  reminded  in  this  connection  of  the  fact, 
stated  by  us  early  in  this  volume,'*  that  there  are  some  thirteen  or 

1  Gillett's  History  Presbyterian  Church,  p.  513. 

2  Ibid,  p.  553.  This  is  not  the  worst  of  the  matter,  however.  There  are  eight  or  ten  distinct 
Presbyterian  organisms  —each  of  whidi  is  '•  The  Church  "  in  this  country,  involving,  accord- 
ing to  the  Princeton  Review,  (which  ought  to  Isnow,)  "  not  only  the  evils  of  sectarian  jealousy 
and  rivalry,  but  the  enormous  waste  of  men,  labor,  and  money."  —  Princeton  Review,  xxxvii : 
272. 

3  Princeton  Review,  xxxvii :  309.  *  See  page  5. 


296  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

fourteen  hundred  churches  in  this  country  which  are,  in  substance, 
Congregationally  governed,  and  which  are  yet  avowedly  and  fatally 
heretical  in  their  creed  —  so  far  as  they  have  any ;  and  shall  be 
asked  to  reconcile  that  fact  with  the  argument  of  this  chapter. 

Nothing  is  easier  than  to  do  so.  While  their  existence,  and  what 
measure  of  thrift  they  possess,  are  a  continued  demonstration  of  the 
needlessness  of  hierarchal  institutions,  and  a  proof  that  Congrega- 
tionalism, even  in  its  most  imperfect  and  erroneous  development,  has 
important  advantages  over  all  other  forms  of  Church  PoHty ;  it  is 
enough  to  say  that  by  ignoring  two  of  its  fundamental  principles  (that 
the  Bible  is  to  be  taken  in  its  uttermost  exactness  of  honest  literal 
meaning  as  our  guide,  and  that  hopeful  piety  be  an  indispensable  con- 
dition of  Church  membership)  they  have  hindered  our  system  from 
working  its  spiritually  purgative  work  upon  them,  and  made  them- 
selves thus  exceptional  to  its  beneficent  tendencies,  without,  in  any 
degree,  impairing  the  proof  that  they  exist. 


CHAPTER  V. 

WHAT  OUGHT  TO  BE  DONE  ABOUT  IT? 

This  is  the  practical  question  which  sums  up  all.  We  do  not 
propose  to  go  into  any  answer  in  full  detail,  but  merely  to  throw  out 
a  few  suggestions  as  the  seeds  of  thought,  and,  so  far  as  God  please, 
of  action. 

We  have  seen  that  Congregationalism  is  that  democratic  form  of 
Ecclesiastical  order  and  government,  which  Christ  and  the  Apostles 
established  in  the  earliest  days  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  which 
emerged  from  the  hierarchal  eclipse  of  fourteen  hundred  years  into 
which  it  was  speedily  thrown,  in  immediate  connection  with  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  the  pious  studies,  labors,  and  sufferings  of  our 
Pilgrim  fathers.  We  have  seen  that  it  is  grounded  upon  the  teach- 
ings of  Christ,  and  the  testimony  of  the  Apostles  ;  that  all  its  essen- 
tial principles  are  immutably  founded  upon  the  rock  of  Scriptural  pre- 
cept, and  example,  and  buttressed  on  every  side  by  the  clearest  deduc- 
tions of  pure  reason.  We  have  seen  how  its  system  works  in  general, 
and  in  detail.  And  we  have  seen  how  and  why  it  is  better  than  any 
other  form  of  Church  polity : — in  its  nearer  accordance  with  the  mind 
of  Christ ;  its  superior  practicableness  of  working ;  its  especial  stimula- 
tion of  general  intelligence ;  its  eminent  furtherance  of  piety  in  its  mem- 
bership ;  its  peculiar  promotion  of  that  discipline  on  which  purity  de- 
pends in  the  Church ;  its  extraordinary  kindliness  toward  its  min- 
istry, and  their  work  ;  its  singular  adaptation  to  those  revivals,  which 
are  the  life  of  the  Church,  and  the  hope  of  the  world  ;  its  inapproach- 
able facilities  for  the  Gospel  treatment  of  false  doctrine  and  heresy ; 
and  its  unique  congeniality  with  the  working  of  those  republican  in- 
stitutions, which  are  indeed  its  own  gift  to  the  world.  We  have 
further  seen  how  all  these  considerations  are  hightened  by  the  fact 
that  these  advantages  of  Congregationalism  are  innate  and  organic, 
while  what  sometimes  seem  to  be  its  disadvantages  in  contrast  with 

(297) 


298  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

the  working  of  other  and  hostile  systems,  are  incidental  to  present 
imperfections  in  its  development,  and  will  disappear  of  themselves, 
as  it  grows  to  do  its  perfect  work. 

In  view  of  these  considerations,  and  such  as  these,  which  will 
crowd  upon  every  reflecting  mind  having  due  cognizance  of  the 
facts,  it  becomes  an  inquiry  of  special  interest,  what  duty  rests  upon 
the  believers  in  this  system  of  polity. 

We  suggest :  — 

1.  Congregationalists  should  recognize  the  fact  that  Congrega- 
tionalism is  a  polity.  They  have  been  too  apt  to  esteem  it  as  rather 
the  negation  of  a  system.  They  ought  to  see  that  it  is  an  orderly, 
self-consistent,  compact,  and  singularly  perfect  plan  of  Christian 
working ;  more  nearly  adapted  than  any  other  to  the  needs  of  individ- 
ual human  nature  and  the  necessities  of  the  advancing  intelligence  of 
the  world ;  and  quite  as  sharply  defined  in  its  qualities,  and  as  im- 
perative in  its  duties  growing  out  of  them,  as  any  polity  with  which 
it  competes  among  men.  Like  our  form  of  civil  government,  it  sits 
loosely  upon  loyal  shoulders,  and  seldom  forces  itself  upon  the 
thought  of  the  obedient  and  the  faithful ;  but  it  has  as  distinct  an 
entity  as  that  government  itself,  and,  like  that,  will  not  fail  to  make 
itself  felt  as  a  corrective  upon  the  offender.  So  far  from  being  no- 
where as  a  philosophy  and  a  doctrine ;  not  Rome  herself  with  her 
canons  and  decretals  has  a  position  for  her  devotees,  and  a  demand 
upon  them,  any  more  thoroughly  self-consistent,  or  distinctly  defined, 
than  Congregationalism  has  for  her  disciples. 

2.  Congregationalists  ought  to  comprehend  the  fact  not  only  that 
they  have  a  polity,  but  that  they  have  that  polity  which  Christ  es- 
pecially loves  and  would  promote.  His  own  directions  for  Church 
life,  as  we  have  seen,  cannot  be  applied  to  any  other  system  without 
violence ;  while  our  simple,  unostentatious,  and  spiritual  methods  are 
such  as  most  entirely  comport  with  what  he  was,  and  what  he  loved, 
and  what  he  did,  and  what  he  desires.  It  must  be  that  it  is  a  part 
of  that  "  travail  of  his  soul,"  which  is  the  MiUenium  he  shall  be  sat- 
isfied with  seeing,  that  his  cause  here  should  be  brought  back  from 
all  false  and  formal  and  worldly  ways,  to  that  simplicity  that  is  in 
him ;  until  we  all  do  this  in  remembrance  of  him,  in  that  way  in 
which  he  did  it,  and  in  which  it  was  done,  and  caused  to  be  done,  by 
those  who  saw  him  oftenest,  and  loved  him  most,  and  knew  him  best, 
and  followed  him  nearest. 


WHAT  OUGHT  TO  BE  DONE  ABOUT  IT.  299 

3.  Congregatibnalists  ought  to  master  their  polity  in  its  grand 
general  scope,  and  in  all  its  minutest  details.  The  fact  that  it  has 
no  "  Book  "  in  which  is  a  written  code ;  that  it  has  no  authoritative 
exposition  of  what  the  Bible  teaches,  and  the  churches  should  prac- 
tice ;  makes  this  duty  of  especial  importance.  The  two  foci  of  our 
ellipse  are,  on  the  one  side,  the  independence  of  the  local  Church, 
and  on  the  other,  the  mutual  friendship  and  helpful  co-working  of  all 
local  churches.  Around  and  from  these  two  centres,  the  circum- 
ference of  duty  is  drawn,  and  it  is  for  each  man's  conscience,  en- 
lightened by  the  word  of  God  and  by  prayer,  to  sweep  that  including 
line  for  himself,  and  decide  what  things  fall  of  necessity  within  it, 
and  what  things  lie  inexorably  outside  of  it.  The  fact  that  others 
have  gone  over  the  ground  before,  and  have  left  more  or  less  record 
of  their  solution  of  the  question  at  issue,  may  help  him  —  must  help 
him  —  but  cannot  supersede  his  duty  of  working  out  the  problem 
for  himself.  Common  sense,  guided  by  a  devout  spirit,  can  hardly 
fail  to  lead  the  honest  inquirer  into  essential  truth  in  all  his  deduc- 
tions from  the  first  principles  of  our  system ;  while  the  circumstance 
that  a  great  diversity  sometimes  exists  in  Congregational  practices 
of  minor  import,  is  much  more  an  illustration  of  the  historical  fact 
that  we  have  heedlessly  borrowed  our  usages  from  surrounding  pol- 
ities in  some  points  incongruous  with  our  own,  than  an  argument 
against  the  safety  of  the  deductions  of  individual  research. 

It  is  a  disgrace  to  our  denomination,  that,  in  so  many  instances,  its 
members  are  so  helplessly  ignorant  of  its  plainest  requisitions.  But 
the  disgrace  attaches  to  the  weak  concessions  of  the  past  to  the  in- 
fluences of  Presbyterianism,  and  the  so  great  commingling  of  the 
two  polities  in  the  broad  field  of  the  West,  rather  than  to  the  system 
itself ;  as  if  its  natural  tendency  were  to  make  its  disciples  unaware 
what  manner  of  spirit  they  are  of.  They  owe  it  to  themselves  to 
know.  They  owe  it  to  their  Master,  and  to  the  world  for  whom  he 
died,  to  know,  and  to  know  assuredly. 

4.  Congregationalists  ought  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  no  other 
polity  can  be  so  helpful  as  their  own  to  this  land  in  its  immense,  and 
now  immensely  augmenting  need.  The  days  when  American  Con- 
gregationalism was  impudently  assumed  by  those  who  did  not  desire 
it  at  the  West,  and  weakly  conceded  by  those  who  did  not  under- 
stand it  at  the  East,  to  be  constitutionally  ineffective,  irrelevant,  and 


300  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

exotic  beyond  Byram  river,  have  passed  a  long  way  into  history. 
Fourteen  hundred  and  forty-six  —  more  than  half — of  her  2,863 
churches;  1,149  of  her  2,719  ministers;  and  89,020  of  her  268,015 
Church  members,  are  now  catalogued  in  "  the  regions  beyond." 
Congregational  churches  have  demonstrated  to  a  not  overwilling 
world,  that  they  can  live  and  thrive  anyv/here  and  everywhere,  where 
Christ  has  redeemed  people  whom  he  desires  should  be  banded  to- 
gether to  serve  him,  and  where  it  is  his  purpose  to  have  his  kingdom 
come.  The  purity  of  the  republicanism  of  our  system,  and  the 
stimulus  which  it  affords  to  popular  education,  make  it  directly  sub- 
servient to  the  cause  of  sound  civil  government  in  this  nation,  as  no 
other  system  can  be ;  while,  at  the  present  time,  when  all  the  forms  of 
hierarchy  are  hampered  by  their  unyielding  organism,  or  by  something 
in  then*  past  record,  which  stands  in  the  way  of  their  meeting  the  new 
demands  of  the  opening  free  South  for  Christian  aid,  guidance,  and  re- 
construction, it  offers  itself,  as,  on  the  one  hand,  actually  fitted  by  all 
its  peculiarities,  and  on  the  other  hand,  passively  prepared  by  all  that 
it  is  not,  and  has  not  been,  and  done,  as  no  other  can  be  for  the  great 
and  glorious  work.  Its  professors  ought  to  enlarge  their  minds  to 
the  fullest  comprehension  of  all  that  the  Lord  is  now  making  possible 
for  them  to  do,  that  they  may  justify  the  Master's  hope  for  them  by 
fulfilling  that  Master's  purpose  of  blessing  for  the  world  through 
them. 

5.  Congregationalists  ought  to  feel  that  their  polity  is  preemi- 
nently the  polity  of  revivals,  and  so  the  best  hope  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  on  earth ;  and  feeling  this  they  ought  to  work  it  in  that  aim, 
and  to  that  end.  The  watchword  of  glorious  old  Lyman  Beecher, 
"  revivals  are  the  hope  of  the  Church,"  ought  to  be  their  battle  cry. 
They  believe  in  revivals.  They  are  not  afraid  of  them.  Their 
whole  system  is  congruous  with  them,  and  trains  all  whom  it  fitly  in- 
fluences, just  as  they  need  to  be  trained,  to  promote  them.  And  the 
history  of  the  Congregationalism  of  New  England,  almost  for  the 
last  one  hundi-ed  years,  has  been  such  a  history  of  revivals  as  it  is 
believed  no  other  churches  on  earth  could  ever  show.  And  now 
that  the  world,  and  our  nation,  need  revivals  of  pure  and  undefiled 
religion  as  they  were  never  needed  before,  and  as  God  is  throwing 
open  avenues  to  human  hearts  as  they  were  never  opened  before, 
Congregationalists  wiU  be  the  most  ungrateful,  as  well  as  faithless, 


WHAT  OUGHT  TO  BE  DONE  ABOUT  IT.  301 

of  all  people  of  God,  if  they  do  not  awake  to  righteousness,  and 
develop  to  the  utmost  the  beneficent  powers  with  which  God  has  en- 
trusted them. 

6.  Congregationalists,  understanding  that  they  have  a  polity  -^ 
that  polity  which  Christ  founded  and  loves,  and  comprehending  it 
in  all  its  breadth  of  detail,  and  appreciating  the  significance  of  its 
healthy  extension  to  the  civil  welfare  of  the  nation,  and  to  the  re- 
ligious welfare  of  the  world  ;  ought  to  determine,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  to  use  all  honorable  means  to  secure  its  prevalence  through  the 
land  and  over  the  world.  They  need  no  longer  be  afraid  of  the  cry 
of  "  Congregational  Puseyism."  ^  They  need  no  longer  shrink  before 
the  Presbyterian  sneer  at  the  sectarian  propagation  of  their  dis- 
tinctive principles,  as  if  for  Congregationalists  to  do  anything  to  pro- 
mote Congregationalism,  were  to  commit  one  of  those  blunders  which 
are  worse  than  a  crime.  And  why,  forsooth,  in  the  name  of  all  good- 
ness, may  not  Congregationalists  propagate  their  distinctive  princi- 
ples —  so  be  that  they  do  it  in  an  honorable  and  Christian  manner  — 
with  as  much  self-respect  and  as  much  other  respect,  as  the  believers 
in  any  less  Scriptural  form  of  faith  ?  Why  ought  they  not  to  do  it  ? 
What  is  there  "  funny  "  in  the  idea,  that  they  should  have  "  distinc- 
tive "  principles  —  except  it  may  be  that  their  own  impotence  for  so 
long  in  setting  them  forth,  has  prepared  the  world  to  believe  that  they 
are  without  them  ?  Is  not  the  Gospel  principle  of  the  independence 
and  self-completeness  of  the  local  Church  as  really  a  "  distinctive " 
principle,  as  its  corrupt  hierarchal  opposite  ;  and,  being  taught  of  God 
that  it  is  the  truth,  and  that  all  other  theories  of  the  Church  are 
grounded  in  error  and  fraught  with  harm,  are  Congregationalists  to 
be  despised,  because  they  contend  manfully  for  the  faith  once  deliv- 
ered to  the  saints  ? 

By  no  means.  The  world  always  respects  earnest  men,  even 
when  it  cannot  agree  with  them.  And  it  is  because  so  many  nom- 
inal Congregationalists  have  dilly-dallied  and  shilly-shallied  over 
their  polity,  so  long  and  so  apologetically,  and  proved  themselves  so 


1  Dr.  Rice  came  in  this  evening  from  his  mission  to  the  Massachusetts  General  Association  at 
Pepperell.  He  says  the  Congregationalists  are  blowing  up  the  sectarian  flame  very  hard,  and 
laboring  to  propagate  their  '  distinctive '  principles.  Congregational  Puseyism  is  funny 
enough  !"  — Letter,  of  date,  29  June,  184G.  —  Forty  Years^  Familiar  Letters,  of  J.  W.  Alex- 
ander, D.  D.,  ii :  54. 


302  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

ready  to  leave  it  on  the  slightest  occasion,^  and  so  anxious  to  have  it 
understood  that  it  unites  the  maximum  of  agreement  with  everybody 
else,  to  the  minimum  of  self-coherence  and  self-consistence,  that  they 
have  excited  tovs^ard  it  —  or  toward  this  wretched  caricature  of  it  — 
the  pity  of  some,  the  contempt  of  others,  and  the  misapprehension 
of  all. 

It  is  high  time  for  every  member  of  the  denomination  to  awake 
out  of  sleep,  to  study  its  system  until  he  discovers  that  it  has  '  dis- 
tinctive '  principles,  and  to  become  so  steeped  in  them,  and  possessed 
by  the  thought  of  the  good  that  is  in  them  for  a  clamoring  country 
and  a  waiting  world,  as  to  feel  that  nothing  will  suit  his  utterance 
short  of  those  energetic  words  of  Peter  and  John,  and  he  '  cannot  not 
speak '  ^  the  things  which  he  has  seen  and  heard.  When  he  is  thus 
aroused,  and  has  made  himself  intelligent  in  his  own  faith,  apprecia- 
tive of  it,  and  enthusiastic  for  it,  several  things  will  be  likely  to 
occur  to  him  as  desirable  to  be  done  to  promote  it  —  such  as  some 
of  these:  — 

(1.)  It  should  be  preached  as  a  system  which  Christ  and  the 
Apostles  shaped,  and  which  ought  to  be  made  clear  in  what  it  is, 
what  it  is  not,  and  what  it  demands,  to  all  true  believers.  As  it  is  a 
system  especially  for  the  lay  masses  —  one  which  peculiarly  honors, 
blesses,  and  leans  upon  them —  it  should  be  made  especially  familiar^ 
to  them,  until  a  public  sentiment  is  created  which  esteems  the  quasi 
boast  not  now  infrequently  heard  from  the  lips  of  Congregational 
ministers  —  "I  believe  I  have  never  preached  on  the  distinctive  prin- 
ciples of  Congregationalism,  in  my  life,  so  that  I  surely  cannot  be 
called  very  sectarian,"  to  be,  rather,  a  humiliating  confession  of  pro- 
fessional malfeasance,  and  personal  cowardice.  Without  ringing 
changes  upon  it,  without  tiring  people  with  it,  and  making  a  hobby 
of  it,  Congregationalism  ought  to  be  expounded  from  its  own  pulpits 
with  sufficient  frequency  to  indoctrinate  the  people  thoroughly  in  its 
essence  and  excellence,  and  to  save  the  young,  especially,  from  those 
snares  which  the  systems  of  more  hierarchal  pomp  and  splendor  will 
be  very  likely  to  set  for  their  giddy  feet. 

(2.)  Distinctively  Congregational  Missions,  home  and  foreign, 
should  be  supported  by  aU  Congregational  churches,  in  preference  to 

1  Of  a  Presbyterian  call,  provided  it  be  reasonably  "loud." 

2  Acts,  iv:  20.     ''otJ  dvvdneOa  uri  XaAfiiv." 


WHAT  OUGHT  TO  BE  DONE  ABOUT  IT.  303 

all  others.  In  regard  to  foreign  missions,  it  is  not  indeed  needful 
that  there  be  any  pledge  that  mission  churches  should  take  the 
Congregational  form  —  that,  Providence,  through  the  inherent  ne- 
cessities of  the  case,  will  sufficiently  secure.'^  All  that  is  needed  is 
that  the  missions  be  not  distinctively  pledged  to  any  hierarchy. 

As  to  home  missions,  the  case  is  different.  Believing,  as  we  do, 
that  no  Church  but  a  Congregational  Church  can  be  fully  Scriptural, 
reasonable,  or  preferable  in  this  land,  it  is  natural  that  we  should  de- 
mand that,  in  the  matter  of  a  Society  whose  work  is  to  found  churches 
in  the  distant  West  and  South,  there  should  be  some  security  that 
our  money  does  not  go  to  pull  down  what  we  believe  to  be  truth,  in 
the  interest  of  that  which  we  believe  to  be  error.  Of  course  any  Evan- 
gelical Church  is  better  than  none,  and  where  the  question  must  be 
(for  any  reason)  between  no  Church  at  all,  or  one  of  Evangelical 
faith  of  some  other  polity,  we  could  not  hesitate  to  authorize  such  a 
concession  to  Providence.  But  the  cases  must  be  very  few  where, 
when  the  especial  fitness  of  Congregationalism  for  "  fresh  woods 
and  pastures  new "  is  understood,  it  will  not  seem  best  to  all  con- 
cerned to  let  the  new  organism  begin  with  the  Scripture,  and  not 
with  the  traditions  of  the  Elders.  The  West  is  no  longer  preempted 
to  Presbyterianism.  And  in  some  parts  of  the  South,  they  have  had 
quite  Presbyterianism  enough  —  such  as  it  was  —  to  last  them  until 
the  rebellion  shall  be  forgotten,  and  its  blood-stains  fade.  There  is 
no  reason  why  —  in  due  comity  to  all  less  Scriptural  competitors, 
and  with  no  enmity  toward  anybody,  —  the  Congregational  churches 
should  not  take  the  blessing  of  Napthali,  and  '  possess  the  West 
and  the  South.*  ^ 

(3.)  Congregationalists  —  since  their  system  more  than  any  other, 
both  promotes  intelligence  and  depends  upon  it  —  should  abundantly 
endow,  and  then  thoroughly  use,  their  existing  (and  all  needed  ad- 
ditional) Colleges  and  Theological  Seminaries.  It  is  deplorable  that 
they  have  so  long  neglected  their  own  interests  in  this  regard.  If 
the  Seminary  at  Andover  had  always  been  fas  it  now  is,  and  is  to  be) 
a  thoroughly  Congregational  institution,  with  a  trumpet  uttering  a 
certain  and  a  Scriptural  sound  upon  the  question  of  Church  polity ; 
it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  our  Congregationalism  at  the  West 
might  not  now  have  been  of  double  its  present  strength.     Men  for 

1  See  page  277.  2  Deut.  xxxiii :  23. 


804  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

many  years  went  forth  thence  instructed  that  the  Congregationalism 
of  New  England  lacked  some  of  the  very  elements  which  Presby- 
terianism  offered,^  and  that,  at  any  rate,  "  it  was  best  for  Congrega- 
tionalists  to  become  Presbyterians  when  they  moved  to  the  West."  ^ 
That  folly  is  now  outgrown,^  and  yet  it  may  well  be  questioned 
whether  there  is  not  room  for  improvement  in  the  tone  of  all  our 
New  England  Seminaries  upon  this  question.  Congregationalists, 
whom  God  has  blessed  with  abundant  wealth,  should  endow  these 
Seminaries  so  amply,  that  there  shall  no  longer  be  inducement  for 
our  young  men  to  seek  an  education  within  their  slender  means  in 
other  Seminaries  out  of  New  England,  and  become  Presbyterianized 
in  the  process.^ 

Every  Pastor,  and  indeed  every  Church  officer,  ought  to  be  in- 
quiring now  for  young  men  of  piety  and  talents,  who  may  be,  as  soon 
as  possible,  put  in  training  in  these  institutions  for  the  great  need  of 
the  churches  and  the  world.  There  is  danger  of  a  speedy  famine 
of  ministers,  unless  the  ranks  of  preparation  are  quickly  and  amply 
filled. 

(4.)  Congregationalists  should  purify  the  practical  working  of  their 
system  from  those  inconsistencies  which  now,  on  the  one  hand,  de- 
tract from  its  usefulness  and  acceptance  within,  and,  on  the  other, 
impair  its  good  name,  and  so  hinder  its  progress,  without.  We  here 
refer,  more  particularly,  to  those  not  very  unusual  crude,  ill-judged, 
and  hasty  procedures  in  which  some  simple  fundamental  principle  of 
our  polity  is  violated,  in  the  endeavor  to  right  some  felt  wrong ;  — 
as  where  a  Council,  called  for  some  specific  purpose,  and  for  that 
only,  being  in  session,  and  becoming  cognizant  of  some  apparent  evil 
which  it  thinks  it  possible  to  cure,  makes  an  uncalled  for  deliverance 
in  regard  to  it  —  to  the  alienation  of  those  who  may  be  aggrieved  by 
their  procedure,  and  who  have  sense  enough  to  perceive  its  unconsti- 
tutionality ;  or  where  a  Conference  of  Churches,  (by  its  very  fimda- 


1  Dr.  Woods's  Worts,  iii :  577-583.  2   Congregationaliit,  15  Mar.  18(>1. 

8  Dr.  Woods  repented  of  his  judgment  in  this  respect  before  his  death.  In  July,  1844,  he  said, 
"  I  have  altered  my  opinion.  I  think  the  Congregationalists  ought  to  remain  such,  at  the 
West.  The  house  is  not  large  enough  for  two  families,  and  each  family  ought  to  have  its  own 
separate  tenement." — Ibid. 

*  It  is  greatly  to  be  hoped  not  only  that  the  new  plans  at  Andover  may  be  carried  out,  but 
that  the  East  Windsor  Seminary  may  receive  an  ample  endowment  on  its  contemplated  remov- 
al to  Hartford,  so  that  those  young  men  of  Old  School  preferences,  who  would  not  be  happy 
— 01  think  they  would  not  —  at  Andover,  or  Bangor,  or  New  Haven,  need  not  be  driven  to 
Princeton,  as  so  many  of  them  now  seem  to  be. 


WHAT  OUGHT  TO  BE  DONE  ABOUT  IT.  805 

mental  constitution,  to  the  last  degree,  destitute  of  the  faintest  shad- 
ow of  power  over  the  churches)  with  a  good  motive  in  a  particular 
case,  practically  decides,  by  some  indirect  yet  effectual  vote,  that  a 
given  Church  is  not  a  Church  in  good  and  regular  standing;  or 
where  an  association  of  ministers  (which  is  as  purely  a  voluntary  as- 
sociation as  a  sewing  circle  or  a  debating  club,)  on  what  it  thinks  to 
be  due  cause,  and  because  it  judges  that  the  thing  ought  to  be  done, 
and  does  not  instantly  discern  in  what  other,  and  regular  way,  the 
end  desired  may  be  reached,  professes  to  depose  from  the  ministry 
some  erring  brother  whose  name  may  happen  to  be  on  its  list  of 
membership. 

It  is  humiliating  that  the  doctors  of  our  law  are  not  sometimes 
better  instructed  in  its  principles  than  they  prove  themselves  to  be, 
but  so  it  is.  And  some  of  them  are  in  great  danger  of  thinking 
that  because  our  system  is  not  a  very  rigid  one,  therefore  almost 
anything,  which  it  seems  desirable  to  have  done,  may  be  rightly  done, 
in  almost  any  manner.  Any  end  which  God  in  his  Providence  sets 
before  it  may  indeed  be  reached  through  it,  —  there  is  no  doubt  of 
that.  But  there  is  a  right  way,  and  a  wrong  way  of  procedure  to- 
ward every  end,  and  it  is  of  very  great  consequence  that  our  system 
be  sufficiently  understood  by  its  professors,  to  secure  the  right  doing 
always  of  all  that  needs  to  be  done  in  the  churches. 

Our  great  danger  is  from  a  distrust  of  our  own  first  principles.  We 
are  afraid  to  do  right  and  trust  God,  and  wait.  Some  among  us  often 
long  for  a  "  strong  government "  by  which  a  heretic  could  be  at  once 
compelled  to  renounce  our  name,  and  his  Church  compelled  to  accept 
some  other  teacher.  They  do  not  see  that  the  only  force  that  is 
"  strong  "  enough  to  deal  successfully  with  such  a  case,  is  that  of  truth 
and  time  which,  under  God,  will  bring  all  right,  and  quicker  under 
the  moral  appliances  of  our  system  than  under  the  sharper  force  of 
any  other. 

(5.)  Congregationalists  ought  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  unity  and 
concord  and  co-working,  that  shall  do  such  justice  as  has  never 
yet  been  done  to  their  great  fundamental  principle  of  the  com- 
munion of  the  churches.  They  do  not  need  a  General  Assembly, 
nor  a  General  Convention,  nor  any  great  overshadowing  all-engulfing 
hierarchy.  But  they  do  need  to  understand  each  other,  to  love  each 
other,  to  trust  each  other,  and  to  plan  to  work  with  each  other. 

20 


806  CONGREGATIONALISM. 

The  good  old  Synodic  way  of  meeting  together  for  general  counsel 
upon  matters  of  common  concernment,  is  fragrant  in  our  history,  and, 
as  we  experienced  it  a  few  years  since,  in  the  "  Albany  Convention," 
it  did  great  good,  and  little  or  no  harm.  And  it  may  be  hoped,  and 
confidently  expected,  that  that  new  Synod  of  Boston  —  under  the 
more  appreciable  and  appropriate  modern  name  of  Council  —  which 
is  soon  to  be  held,  may  make  suggestions  in  this,  and  other  directions, 
which  shall  be  of  incalculable  benefit ;  as  the  result  of  which  the 
world  shall  see  that  a  denomination  of  churches,  simply  affiliated  by 
sisterhood  in  Christ,  is  more  homogeneous,  more  strong,  beneficent 
and  practical,  than  any  hierarchy  that  the  world  ever  saw. 

The  Lord  our  God  be  with  us  as  He  was  with  our  fathers,  —  let 
Him  not  leave  us  nor  forsake  us  ;  that  He  may  incline  our  hearts 
unto  him  ;  to  walk  in  all  His  ways,  and  to  keep  His  commandments, 
and  His  statutes,  and  His  judgments,  which  He  commanded  our 
fathers.    Amen. 


THE     END. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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